Hybrid
by Nezkov Sou
Summary: HiruSena, slight AU. Sena was just an average high school student whose life was dull and filled with boredom and running errands. That was only until he was picked up by a Hybrid German Shepard. Wait, who picked who?
1. Like Master, Like Pet

A/n: Slight AU, contains HiruSena. If you don't like, don't read. I've wanted to write this for months. And this chapter had been sitting for 1 month. I thought that I would post it after I finish the whole story. But I'm the type who needs physical(not literally) force to continue doing something. So… here goes…

Disclaimer: I do not own Eyeshield 21

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Chapter 1 – Like Master, Like Pet

A buzz vibrated in his ears and with forced effort, honey brown eyes cracked open. The white ceiling greeted him and the annoying buzz continued. Still half-asleep, Kobayakawa Sena rolled to his side and grabbed his cell phone beside him. The blinking screen showed the 6:00 morning call he had set. Sena pushed himself up groggily and stifled a yawn; his dark brown hair sticking out in every direction. _What day is it today?_

He kept sitting on his bed trying with all his might to conjure his brain to give out commands. After what felt like a good one minute, he gingerly stood up and stretched his body from head to toe; another yawn escaping from his lips. Slightly staggering, the brunet crossed his room to the door and out to the living room. Only the ticking of the clock hung on the wall filled the entire house. Already used to his surroundings, Sena stepped into the bathroom just beside his room.

* * *

Warm water splashed onto his bare skin sending a comfortable feeling throughout his body. _It doesn't matter what day it is today. After all, everyday would be the same for me… _Sena sighed tiredly. His thoughts were true. He had always been the gopher everywhere he goes. He could not resist or fight back. He was weak. Following orders or running away were his only choices. He hated to feel pain. That was why he did so much to avoid that stinging feeling.

Stepping out of the shower, Sena dried his hair with a towel and crossed the living room towards the kitchen. Cereal was his usual everyday breakfast. It did not mean that he could not cook; he just did not want to in the morning. Too much trouble was needed to just prepare a one person meal. Indeed, his cooking skill could be passed as 'good' for a sixteen year old teenager who lived alone.

Sena placed the empty bowl on the dinner table and retrieved a carton of milk from the refrigerator and a box of cornflakes from one of the cabinets. Once he had settled down, the brunet stared at his unprepared breakfast with a bored mood not really wanting to eat anything.

His life was like a controlled machine: carrying out his same everyday task at a certain time with certain duration. Nothing special had ever occurred in his life before. His was just your ordinary average high school student with a few friends and the main target of bullies.

Deciding that he would skip breakfast today, Sena stored the milk and cereal in their appropriate places. Schoolbag slung over his shoulder, he slipped into his shoes. Sena's parents had insisted that he should begin to live alone, experience adulthood and develop independence. The whole idea made him uneasy at first, but after going through two months, Sena had adjusted to his new lifestyle. Although he was still being made the gopher, he had somehow made a few friends.

Once he had stepped out, he was greeted with a sight he had become familiar with. Hybrid Golden Retriever, Kakei Shun, was leaning on the wall. A smile jumped onto his face the instant he saw Sena and he greeted, "Good morning Sena."

The brunet smiled, returning the greeting and locked the door.

"Shall we go?" Kakei straightened himself.

"Sure."

When Sena had just moved in, he had been in good terms with Kakei and now they were friends. As stated, Kakei was a Hybrid Golden Retriever; he had the form of a human and canine ears and tail. That was the first time Sena had actually spoken with a Hybrid Animal, seeing that he was afraid of them. However, Kakei was friendly in every way Sena could think of and he was never aggressive towards Sena.

"How was yesterday?" Kakei absent-mindedly asked.

"Uhm… as usual…" Sena laughed sheepishly. He glanced at the taller boy who was beaming at him and the brunet caught a glimpse of the dog collar around Kakei's neck attempted to be hidden behind the turtleneck the Hybrid Golden Retriever was wearing. "Er… what about Mizumachi? Is it alright for you to just… leave him?"

A slight irritation flashed across Kakei's eyes but he turned it into a grin. "Don't worry about that dork. He's still sleeping and probably will be late for school, though he was late almost all the time." Kakei chuckled.

"But still…"

"It's alright," the Hybrid gave a friendly smile, "he should learn to wake up himself and besides, I have to protect you from anyone who tries to harm you."

Sena thought that that was a no need since when Kakei first appeared, all the bullies had been scared out of their skins and no one had tried to harm the brunet in the presence of the Hybrid. Not voicing the thought out Sena just kept quiet.

In truth, Kakei was owned by Mizumachi Kengo, a first grader in Kyoshin Poseidon High School who lived two floors above Sena in the same apartment. Sena had only met Mizumachi once; when they bumped accidentally into each other outside the apartment. Kakei was with Mizumachi and it was the Hybrid who reacted surprised when he saw Sena. Noticing the surprised look in Kakei's face, Mizumachi was eager to know what made his Hybrid that way. Then only he got to know Sena.

Everything about Mizumachi made him stood out in a crowd. His height which was tall for his age, his explosive blond hair and dark green eyes which were distinct from his tanned skin, his hyperactive and joyous nature, and his extra boisterous voice. Mizumachi proved to be a nice and friendly person; and so goes the saying 'Like Master, Like Pet'.

When Mizumachi had engaged Sena into a friendly introduction, Kakei had looked none too pleased. The Hybrid had avoided Sena's eyes and instead, became interested with the concrete pavement. Sulking beside his legal owner, Kakei did not react even when Mizumachi introduced the Hybrid to Sena. Quickly bidding a 'see you later' Kakei had dragged the blonde away who was waving frantically at the brunet.

The day after that encounter, Kakei had apologized to Sena for his master's behaviour. Until that day, Sena had always thought that Kakei was a stray Hybrid. Who would not think that? Ever since they met, Kakei had eagerly walked Sena to school every morning and keeping the brunet company as long as he could. He trailed Sena's footsteps, following the brunet to all over the place. However, the Hybrid Golden Retriever rarely walked Sena home from school. He had explained to the brunet that Mizumachi insisted that Kakei fetch the blonde from Kyoshin Poseidon High. Having no other choice, Kakei obeyed his master. Liking things simple, Sena did not question things further; and assuming that that matter was private.

Deimon High came into view and the two stopped in front of the gate. Spring was still around and the scent of cherry blossom lingered in the cool air; the pale pink petals languidly descended to the grounds. Students ambled towards the main door, casually greeting and chatting with one another. Although it was still early, quite a number of people had arrived.

"Well, have a good day," Kakei beamed at the smaller boy, "should I walk you home after school today?"

"It's alright," Sena scratched the back of his neck, "you know… you should spend more of your time with Mizumachi. I'm fine with being by myself…"

A slight frown appeared on the Hybrid's forehead. "If you say so…" he trailed off and a bright smile returned to his face again, "well then, take care."

"Um… yeah, you too…" the brunet made his way towards the main door. He glanced back and when his honey-brown eyes met with the sea-blue of the Hybrid, he gave a small wave before dashing into the building.

When he had just entered, a familiar loud voice called him from behind. Stopping at his tracks, Sena met up with his best friend, Raimon Tarou who was usually called 'Monta' and he somehow resembled a monkey. Although they were in the same grade, they were placed in different classes. Their meeting was mere coincidence when Sena had helped Monta picked up a baseball that had rolled to Sena's feet. And in a way, they had become friends and now best friend.

"Morning Sena!" Monta exclaimed, "Today I'm gonna work hard in baseball practice MAX!"

Sena just chuckled softly, used to this reaction. Monta was in the baseball club as a ball boy. He had strived to be placed in the regulars of the First Team. Unlike Monta, Sena was not interested in sports; since he was not good in any.

Reaching the lockers, the two first graders met with Anezaki Mamori, a second grader, and was also Sena's childhood friend. She had a unique hair and eye colour: pink and blue; and she was a protective big sister to Sena. When she saw the two of them, she beamed and greeted them good morning.

"How are you today?" she asked casually as she shut her locker.

"Great MAX!" Monta gave a thumbs-up, "I'll work hard to the MAX today and be in the First Team by tomorrow! Just watch me Mamori!"

What Monta blurted out was nothing but impossible. Sena had known since the day they met that Monta had fallen for Mamori and had been trying to impress her. Despite being sixteen, Sena did not feel that he wanted to be involved with this complicated feeling called 'Love'. And he was lucky that he was just some average guy, not popular among the girls. He rather chose to go through a boring but simple life.

"Oh right!" Monta suddenly switched his attention back to Sena, "Was that Kakei again at the front gate just now?"

"Uh, yeah."

"He's not yours right?"

"Well, yea," the three of them began to walk out of the lockers, "he belongs to Mizumachi; the guy that I told you about before."

"Heh…" Monta's brows furrowed, "then why is he with you? Shouldn't he be with his own master?"

"I know," Sena laughed sheepishly, "but I don't know the reason… eh, what am I saying? I mean, I know that he should be with Mizumachi, but I don't know why… I mean that I don't know why he's with me, no, I mean just forget what I said…"

Monta raised his eyebrows, "Lost your confidence again. You mean you don't know, right?"

Red tinged his cheeks, "Eh? Um, yeah…"

Mamori chuckled softly, "But he's very protective of you. He's such a nice Hybrid. It would be better if you owned him."

"Haha…" Sena massaged the back of his neck, "No, really…"

Seemed that it was obvious enough: Kakei Shun wanted Sena to own him. The way he was so devoted in protecting Sena and how he treated the brunet showed the fact crystal-clear. The Hybrid had even once asked Sena if he wished to rare a Hybrid Animal but the answer was not what Kakei wanted. Living alone and taking care of himself was an adequate amount of work for Sena. Looking after a Hybrid Animal was just too heavy a responsibility for him. Yet, Sena had never known how to take care of one. Although he had told Kakei many times that he would not rare any Hybrid Animal, moreover Kakei himself, the Hybrid Golden Retriever never knew when to give up.

"Speaking of owning a Hybrid," Monta began towards Mamori, "you owned one don't ya?"

"Yes, a Hybrid Siamese Cat."

"What's the name again? Suzie?"

"It's Suzuna," Mamori smiled at remembering her Hybrid.

"Ah yeah, Suzuna." Monta snapped his fingers, "She's really high-pitched! And persistent for attention, isn't she, Sena?"

"Huh, ah, yeah," Sena felt lost, being pulled into the conversation so suddenly.

"Well, that's the nature of a Hybrid Siamese Cat," Mamori stated, the smile still on her face.

"Okay…" Monta's eyebrows rose further till they almost disappeared into his hair, "I don't really like her…" he whispered so that only Sena could hear his last statement.

In truth, Sena was not really fond of Suzuna either. Her persistence and hyperactive attitude sometimes bothered him a lot. He was glad that the one person that she was strongly bonded was Mamori and not him. He did not dare think what his life would be if that person was him.

The bell rang for the beginning of classes and the three of them had to part their ways in the hallway.

"Ah, right, today I have a meeting with the Discipline Committee, and it may drag on till late," Mamori spoke up, "and Monta has practice today right?" she worried on, "will you be alright to walk home alone today?"

"Yeah, it's alright," Sena replied, "I'm not a small child anymore…"

Mamori had that maternal-worried look on her face and before she could persist any further, Sena bid his leave and dashed into his class. _Really… 'Like Master, Like Pet'_


	2. The Two Hybrids

A/n: Thanks for the reviews. And here's information on Hybrids for some of you:

Hybrid animals are human with animal features. They roam around the world as normal day-to-day lives. They replace the so-called 'animals'. They have the mind of humans and animals and animal instincts, characteristics and etc.

They can be owned; most of them are stray. So basically, imagine the Hybrids as humans with extra animal features (e.g. ears, tails). There isn't any ability to transform, so in this AU, there isn't any dog on four paws. Most of the Hybrids that will appear in this story are the ones that you can keep as pets, like dogs and cats. Hope you understand, and if you have any other question, feel free to ask.

Illustrations can be found in my homepage.

Disclaimer: I do not own Eyeshield 21

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Chapter 2 – The Two Hybrids

Classes went by as usual and Sena had trouble with Math and English. He could not understand what in the whole wide world the teacher was explaining about. The numbers seemed to dance in his eyes, teasing him and the foreign language jumped around his head making his eyes swirl in circles. The shrill bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson and the beginning of break time. Sena felt as if his head would split into two any moment. He laid his head on the top of his desk and let his arms drop by his side.

Sighing inwardly, the brunet let his eyelids drop and the coloured images in front of him was replaced with bright darkness. In spite of preferring a simple life, a boring life was not something that one could keep holding on to. There would surely be one day where he wished to have something different from the daily routine.

A violent bang shuddered him and he snapped open his eyes so abruptly that he saw light spots dancing. As soon as the spots vanished, Sena's vision was filled with an arm; supported by the palm on his desk. Nervousness rushed into him when he jerked his head back to meet the offender.

"Yo, Sena." Jyuumonji Kazuki smirked at him, evil intention written all over his face; his pale blond hair darkened by the shadow and his scar threatening.

"It may be a bit sudden," Kuroki Kouji appeared at Jyuumonji's side.

"But get us some bread." Toganou Shouzo nudged his large glasses up his nose with his 'Jump' manga book.

"Eh…?" Sena appeared dumbfounded. _This is also something ordinary in my life… but still… _"B-but-"

"Huh?"

"Huuh?"

"Huuuuhhh?!"

"No-nothing!!" and Sena bolted out of the classroom heading for the school's canteen. _But why is it always me?!!_

* * *

This must be the worse day in his life ever. Usually, he would be able to get away with carrying out what he was told to do. But for some reason that he wished to know, the canteen was out of bread. Now what the hell should he do?

Mind racing with every impossible way out, Sena slowly emerged behind the school where the three 'Huh Huh Brothers' were. Kuroki was leisurely leaning against the wall, Jyuumonji settled on one of the wooden carts and Toganou was squatting on the ground with his 'Jump' book. When the short brunet appeared, the three of them turned their attention to him.

Gulping noisily, Sena scratched the back of his head, "T-they ran out of bread,"

Just as he finished his sentence, the three delinquents glowered at him.

"Huh?!"

"Huuuh?!"

"Huuuuuuhhh?!"

"B-but they really ran out!!" Sena tried to defend himself but he was jerked violently and thrown against the wall.

"Stupid! How can you have gone to the canteen that fast?!" Kuroki kicked him up the wall.

The roaring pain crunched his backbone, and Sena clenched his eyes shut and bit his lips. The kicks were thrown at the same spot, making his already stinging back throb more.

"We won't be deceived by your lies," Toganou flipped a page, "let's teach him a lesson."

"Yeah!" Kuroki agreed.

"Wait," Jyuumonji stood up, "Let's do it in that run-down shack." And he pointed at a small concrete cabin not far from them.

Dragging Sena by the back of the uniform, Jyuumonji slid open the door. Already small, the cabin was messed with piles of unknown objects. Small tables were scattered with grocery bags, half-drank bottles of drinks, empty bowls of instant noodles and various other things that could be considered as trash. Ignoring what littered the place, Jyuumonji threw Sena across the room and the brunet crashed his injured back onto a pile of cardboard boxes.

"This place is really a mess," Toganou looked around.

"Who cares about it," Kuroki kicked the door shut.

"Well, what shall we do to punish you?" Jyuumonji smirked at the short brunet, hurdled on the floor.

Sena stared up at the three aggressors, frightened. So much had he done to avoid pain for years until he had forgotten what pain was. Now, he was about to be reminded. Then why did he even try to avoid the inevitable? The fear built up inside him made his whole body trembled. He backed off a little but he was already against the wall. What should he do? He could not possibly fight them back nor could he escape. At this kind of situation, Sena really wished that Kakei was around. The Hybrid would surely protect him. But no. The Hybrid Golden Retriever was no where near where Sena was now. The short brunet bit his bottom lip, preparing for the worst.

Just then, the door slid open. The three delinquents, and Sena too, glanced at the shadowed figure standing at the door.

"Whoor you?" a husky rough voice sounded and the figure stepped in, the shadow faded slightly.

A boy; short and small-built, not from the school since he was not wearing the uniform, but a faded yellow sleeveless shirt and light brown three-quarter pants. Wrath was blatant in his eyes which were large but the black pupils small. His hair was short, scruffy and burnt hay. What caught the main attention were two stubbed dark golden Hybrid Canine ears.

So was this boy a Hybrid Dog?

Definitely.

And an aggressive one. Not a good situation.

"G'fuck OUTTA here!" the sudden outburst sounded more like a roar than a bark, "DIE NOW!"

Sharp fangs glinted and the Hybrid pounced at the three delinquents.

"What the?!" Kuroki was first to escape from the cabin, followed by Jyuumonji, then Toganou, and finally the Hybrid himself. The four of them dashed off; dust and sand in their trails and the wind slammed the door shut.

Sena coughed and rubbed dust out of his eyes. What was that? Did a Hybrid Dog just saved him? Or did the Hybrid just wanted to chase off those who entered his territory? Then this cabin must be his territory. Fearing that the violent Hybrid would return, Sena staggered to his feet. He should get out of here fast.

Sliding the door open, the brunet threw himself out, and charged headlong onto something. His hands which were on the door prevented him from crashing onto his already abused back.

_Crap! Is it the aggressive Hybrid? I'm doomed now!_

Trembling in fright, Sena timidly peeked at the person towering at him. No, not the aggressive Hybrid. Tall, lanky and clothed in black turtleneck and black trousers ending with black shoes. Emerald pupils in slit eyes, striking blond hair spiked up, sharp large tan and black canine ears with two piercing on each. Without doubt, not the previous Hybrid, but another one…

For a few painfully silent seconds, the Hybrid and the brunet locked their gazes. Sena could not move a muscle. He was tensed to the bones, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Another silence passed by and when the Hybrid parted his lips to speak, pointed and surely sharp fangs were exposed.

No… Sena could not take it anymore. Shouting an apology, the brunet sprinted away from the Hybrid, not even giving a last glance. Evil intention or not, Sena did not want to stay any longer.

This Hybrid was way scarier than the previous one…

* * *

The rest of school was tiring and Sena shuddered every time he recalled the outrages episodes of break time. Since he had only really know one Hybrid Dog; which is Kakei, he did not realize that some Hybrids could be aggressive and scary, like those he had just encountered. With a heavy sigh, the brunet wobbled to his feet; his school bag hung sluggishly over his left shoulder. School had just ended.

His legs were heavy as lead but he somehow managed to drag himself out of the classroom. Students walked pass and ahead of him, not giving him another glance. It did not matter whether they actually noticed him or not. He was used to being the average simple kid.

_What a weird day today is…_

Of course it was a weird day. Bizarre things happened which had never crossed his mind before. But little that Sena knew that the off the walls events would lead from one to another…

* * *

Streaks of orange wave and lavender rays painted the evening sky; the cooler colour was a sign that night was soon to fall. Crows with red blood eyes stared at him predatorily; waiting for the time when he dropped to death. _When did those kinds of thoughts begin to come to me? _Sena shuddered and hurried his footsteps. He had to get back home before dark. He had never felt this tired before, and what caused it? The appearances of two Hybrid Dogs…

Sena swore that he would never own any Hybrid; be it a dog, a cat or whatever else.

The silence of the unusually empty street creep him out and a chill ran down his spine: a bad feeling. _No! No! _Sena shook his head violently, trying to push away the unnecessary thoughts which by each of them made the nervousness in him more intense. He began to jog his way; wanting to quickly return to the safety of his home.

An unexpected blow came from nowhere and Sena fell onto his back; clutching his injured face.

"That damn brat back there. Was he an acquaintance of yours?"

Whipping his face to the direction of the voice, Sena was towered by the three delinquents: Jyuumonji, Kuroki and Toganou.

"Tell us how to contact him," Jyuumonji, who was the one who previously spoke, glared down at him, "if you do that, we'll let you live."

The very first thing that crossed Sena's mind was: _He's not my acquaintance! _But for one reason or another, the brunet could not find his voice. No matter how much he wanted to state that fact, he could not bring himself to. Fear crawled inside him, scratching at the dark walls pleading to be let out. He gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut, unable to do anything else.

"But will one bat be enough?" Kuroki asked idly swinging the metal baseball bat on his shoulder, "He's one hell of a brute."

"One is enough," Jyuumonji replied, "We'll just call the Hybrid Service Centre."

"The what?" Toganou questioned not sounding at all questioning.

"We'll frame him for wild aggression and I got this scar when he attacked," the pale blonde rubbed the 'X' scar on his right cheek, "Then he'll definitely be captured and put to sleep by the authorities."

"Nice plan!" the other two delinquents voiced out.

Sena gaped in shock. How could they do that towards a Hybrid who never did start the attack? More ever, going after and beating a Hybrid was cruelty. That must have been their first time meeting with that particular Hybrid, but they were going to harm it? Logic would say that the Hybrid was just protecting its territory or defending itself; not randomly assaulting humans. Sena could not believe that the three of them would go to those extends just because they were pissed. Unconsciously, he fisted his hands and tears weld up in the corner of his eyes. _So much just for that?_

"Hurry up and spill it," Jyuumonji demanded, "If you drag any longer, we might not let you live."

His small form was shaking in fear and he clenched his fists tighter till his knuckles turned white. There was no way he could let them do what they wanted. After knowing Kakei and Suzuna (although he seldom saw her) for a fairly long time, Sena had somehow grown to be quite fond of Hybrids. Now he could not bring himself to let one be into trouble.

"No way…" he whispered.

"Huh?"

"If you want to beat me, then do it!" Sena shot up to his feet, anger rising in his throat, "I'll never tell you!"

Jyuumonji raised an eyebrow and glanced at his companions. Smirks came onto their faces.

"Well then, why don't we see if this body tells us?" and with one swift strike, Sena was hit directly in the chest and sent flying onto the ground where he clutched his chest in pain. Not hesitating, the pale blonde seized the smaller brunet and dragged him into an alleyway; Kuroki and Toganou tagging along behind.

Roughly shoved, his back crashed onto the coarse brick walls. Gritting his teeth to surpass the cry of pain, Sena inadvertently bit his tongue. The weird salty-bitter taste of warm blood reached his taste bud merely before a sharp blow landed on the side of his face, making him throw out the red liquid. He crumpled on the ground, panting and throbbing.

"Have you decided on throwing out the information with blood?" Jyuumonji sneered, eye-level with him.

Through half consciousness, Sena could hear himself whisper a stumbled but hoarse, "No… and ne-ver…"

If looks could kill, the brunet would have died by then. Skull-shattering blows came in directions he could not locate. Pitch darkness filled his vision. Warm bitter liquid splattered out of his mouth. The last thing that he remembered was the dull thud of his own head hitting the ground before he lost consciousness entirely.

* * *

Cold.

_Pitter, patter, pitter, patter_

Musky and damp.

_Pitter, patter, pitter, patter_

Was he dead? If he was not, Sena did not have the energy to even crack his eyes open. He let his body be limp; probably broken in the deserted alleyway, a victim for the predator-like crows he had seen earlier.

_Pitter, patter, pitter, patter_

How the hell did he ended up like this? Right… he had refused to give off how to contact the short aggressive Hybrid. If only he had… no. He did not even know who was; less how to contact, the short aggressive Hybrid Dog. He was thrashed into a pulp for no real reason. How pathetic could he get?

_Pitter, patter, splash, splash_

Now what…? Would be lying here on the ground till the crows decided to be vultures? No one would come around this area and no one would be searching for him. After all, no one was waiting for him in his house. How he wished that he was not that alone. Mamori and Monta would be worried if he did not show up tomorrow. Only tomorrow. What about now?

_Step, step, step_

A sudden jerk made Sena snap open his eyes and a sharp throb rang in his head. Then only did he realize that his feet were not touching the ground. Someone had picked him up by the back of his school attire. Focus slowly returned to his vision and the gasp stuck in his throat.

Emerald shards peered into his honey-brown orbs.


	3. This Blond Hybrid

A/n: Thanks for the great reviews! And some of you might have guessed it right; the Hybrid kid in the previous chapter was Cerberus. (*laughs) I might be the first person who made Cerberus somehow human. And some of you really thought that it was Kurita. (*hysteric, ROFL) I've guess that too. And yes, I apologize for only letting Hiruma appear a glimpse in Chapter 2, (*shrugs, that's how it's supposed to be) but he'll make a big appearance from here on. Hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 3 – This blond Hybrid…

Drops of rain streaked down his bruised cheek and down his chin to the ground. The bitter musty scent filled his nose, suffocating him. New-born fear shot up his spine and Sena swore that he could never stop trembling. Right in front of his eyes was the blond Hybrid he had accidentally ran into just few hours ago at school. The fear from the afternoon merged with the fear of the present. How many frightful things should happen to him? And more ever, all of them cramped into one day.

One day which was supposed to be an ordinary one day…

…had turned into the day which would change his entire life…

With one swift motion, Sena was swung onto the Hybrid's shoulder; his tummy on the shoulder, his legs flailing frantically.

"Ah, woah! Woah!" Sena yelped, nearly falling off.

The Hybrid slung an arm around the brunet's middle, keeping him firm on the shoulder. Without any word, he trudged out of the alley, soaking into the skin.

Frozen due to fright, Sena clamped his mouth shut and let himself be carried by the Hybrid Dog; his arms and legs now lay limp. _Woah! Woah! What the hell am I doing?! I'm being carried away, this is kidnapping! But why am I not fighting back? If I struggled harder, than I could somehow get out of his grip…_

_I'm too scared!! He's too scary!!_

_There's no way I could go against him! He's a Hybrid! And I'm sure he's aggressive! He'll bite me! Somebody! Help me! How did things turn this way? I was thrashed by the delinquents… no, before that… another aggressive but shorter Hybrid Dog… before that… told to buy bread… that's right! I was told to buy some bread, but the canteen ran out of stock._

Telling himself that he would be a fool if he blamed the canteen, Sena let out a soft sigh. He gave a sideway glance at the blond Hybrid and a shiver ran down his spine. From the close proximity, Sena could feel the warmth seeping from the Hybrid into his cold body. It felt kind of nice to be so near to someone else. When was the last time he was held like this? Date to way back till he could not remember. His rigid body began to relax. He was tired and sore from the beatings. How much he wanted to just fall into a dreamless slumber…

Just as his eyelids began to droop, Sena heard the sliding of a door. Forcing his eyes to focus again, he realized, with utter shock, that he was brought into the small and untidy cabin near his school grounds. The cabin where he first saw the other short Hybrid. So was this also this blonde's territory? Not given even a chance to be scared, Sena was dropped onto the floor none too gently. The brunet backed away quickly but the Hybrid crossed to the closet, back-facing him.

Rummaging for a couple of minutes, the Hybrid shut the closet door and tossed a dry towel at Sena. Towel in hand, Sena stared at the Hybrid who was now drying his blond hair with another clean towel. Sena gulped noisily, unable to bring himself to do anything other than watch the other occupant. He was in a dangerous area and he could not bear to be caught unguarded. Who knows what might be done to him?

The Hybrid turned to the brunet and closed their gap. He knelt down to eye level and reached out his hands. Sena flinched when he felt the soft warm cotton towel rubbed against his face.

"Don't you know how to dry yourself?"

The voice was slightly rough and somehow sounded near a growl. But Sena swore that he heard a tinge of happiness. Happiness? Excitement? Gentleness? Evil intent? Which one was it?

Sena jolted when he felt a hand slipped behind his head, holding him firm, and the other hand snaked around his middle. The towel had been left somewhere. Panic rushing into him, Sena tried to push the taller away, but in no avail.

"Wha…!"

Warmth enveloped his lips and a boiling sensation erupted in his chest. Was he being kissed? By the Hybrid? Wait… that could not happen… right? His breath hitched and held. All attempts of shoving away the Hybrid had vanished, replaced by nothing. Sena's mind went blank and his body went rigid again. A tight knot formed in his stomach and his heartbeat thumped so loud he would not be surprised if the Hybrid heard it. The warmth from his lips slowly spread, making his entire face scarlet and whistles rang in his ears.

Sudden realization hit him: he was lacking air to breathe. Mustering what strength he had left, Sena pushed the Hybrid lightly by the shoulders and opened his mouth to tell that he needed air. But to his dismay, a foreign object thrust itself into his opened mouth. Taken by surprise, Sena jolted and his body began to tremble. The wet slick tongue licked all that it came to reach: which means practically almost the whole of the inside of Sena's mouth. The brunet shook uncontrollably.

After a few seconds, the Hybrid pulled out and Sena gasped for air. He thought that he would have died of suffocation. The hand behind his head guided him to face the Hybrid and without hesitation, the blonde licked Sena's lips. Turning another shade of crimson, Sena shoved the Hybrid an arm's length.

"W-What are you doing?!" he could not bring himself to look into those piercing green eyes. There was no way he could after what had happened.

"Cleaning you" was the simple reply and the Hybrid closed the space between them and began licking the brunet's cheek.

Stunned by the answer, Sena's train of thought began to run wild. _What?! Cleaning? That's not how we clean! W-wait! H-he's a Hybrid Dog… do they clean someone by licking? Wh-what? But is this really cleaning or sexual harassment? But who cares! I can't let him continue!!_

Despite the small flame of determination, the brunet could not bring himself to push the blonde away. He was already drained from the pain he received not long ago. The Hybrid made his way to Sena's neck, and when the wet muscle touched the flesh, the smaller boy jolted violently and his already crimson face went brighter, if that was possible.

"N-NO! Stop!"

Finding the strength to fight back, Sena grabbed the Hybrid by the shoulders and tried to push the blonde away from him. The Hybrid was none too pleased with the struggle and a low growl emitted from the back of his throat. With a lot more force than before, he jerked the brunet towards him so that he was practically hugging Sena. He ignored the meek attempt to fight back and continued his 'cleaning'.

The sudden slide of the door made the Hybrid halt, raised his head and glanced at the offending direction. Sena stole a quick look at the person standing at the door and he did not know whether he should feel relief that this blond Hybrid had stopped 'cleaning' or panic and fear of the short boy that stepped into the room.

"Wha'cha doin'?" he kicked the door shut and shook his head vigorously, droplets of water flying in all direction from his burnt hay hair. His two stubbed dark golden Hybrid Canine ears perked up and his black eyes glared directly at Sena. Hunching slightly, he crossed the room and dumped the grocery bags he was holding onto the table. "You from before?"

_He recognized me!! I'm so dead now!! _Sena did not know what to answer. This was none other than the aggressive Hybrid from the afternoon. Still panic-stricken, Sena unconsciously gripped onto the taller Hybrid. He did not care if the Hybrid wanted to continue his 'cleaning' but he never wanted to be left with the violent short Hybrid. However, to his dismay, the blond Hybrid released him and got up to his feet. He strode to the grocery bags and rummaged through them. He fished out a newspaper, dropped himself on one of the chairs and placed his attention on the paper.

Sena stared in shock. Everything just happened too fast for his brain to register properly. First, his life was normal as usual, and when he met this blond Hybrid, unexpected things just randomly popped in. He sat, rooted to the ground, mouth hanging open.

"You there"

The brunet jumped in surprise and glanced at the direction of the voice, stiff as wood. The short Hybrid.

"Yer name"

"E-eh?"

"Yer name! Don'cha know?!" he snarled, his teeth barred.

"K-Kobayakawa Sena!" fear shot through him and instinctively, he backed away into the wall.

The short Hybrid glowered and with his rough voice, he spoke, "I'ma Cerberos." And without another word, he threw himself onto the couch, the unexpected action made Sena jolt nervously. Then a low snore filled the room. The brunet stayed in his position, dumbstruck. What in the world was going on? After scaring him to the edge of paralyzing, he was totally ignored by the two aggressors. Should he make a run now?

"I-I… I'll be going now…" his voice cracked, "t-thank you!" and with new-found strength, Sena jumped to his feet and bolted out of the door into the rain, not sparing any glance back at the Hybrids.

Without opening his eyes or moving, Cerberos mumbled, half asleep, "You rubbed him?"

The taller Hybrid merely chuckled low in his throat as a reply.

"He smelled like yer," Cerberos yawned openly, stretching his limbs. "I'ma sleep."

"Go fucking sleep, fucking mutt," the blonde got up from his seat and dropped the newspaper onto the table. He strode to the door and slid it open, "this time your neck's safe for forgetting to lock the door." A wide grin spread on the blonde's face.

* * *

Water splashed as his feet trudged on puddles of rain. His body was soaked to the skin and his teeth clattered due to the cold. _What has gone wrong with my life? What did I do to be in this mess? This is just too ridiculous to be believed!_

Soon, Sena reached Autumn Breeze Apartment, his home, and hurriedly entered the building. The sudden lack of rain made his body shivered. Shower. He needed a shower. He rushed up the stairs, reminding himself to apologize to the janitor for creating water trails. The brunet almost slipped if not for his grip on the railings. He regained his posture and scrambled to his home; room 121.

He dug his hands into his pockets and oh, to anyone up there… he really wanted to scream and pull at his hair. His pockets… empty. House keys… gone. He wrenched open his bag and began delving through, scattering books and papers. However, no keys were found.

Was the world at its end? Why did all these happen to him? Unconsciously, he rested his forehead on the plain white door. Feelings mixed inside him and all his strength seemed to be drained away. Now what? He did not have the power to break open the door nor the talent to pick at the lock like in the movies. It felt funny; he had locked himself out of his own home. Sena heaved a heavy tired sigh. He had no idea of what to do.

His small body was shaking in chill and he felt heat rising in his face. Was he having a fever? It could not be just because of a little rain, right? A little rain… but how many hours had he stayed soaked up like an abandoned kitten?

His blank mind did not register the sound of squelching shoes on the wet tiled floor slowly making its way towards him. Until a dark shadow loomed over him only did he come back to his senses.

"Fucking shrimp," a husky voice sounded from above him, "did you forget something?" the last part was dragged in a mocking manner.

Painfully twisting his neck, Sena glanced at the towering figure behind him. His eyes went wide. The tall Hybrid with glaring blond hair and metal piercings on the tan and black ears. His emerald shards of eyes reflected his dominant and sinister nature and his smirk was wide, barring each and every sharp fangs. But what caught Sena's fullest attention was the set of shiny metal keys dangling on the long pale finger of the Hybrid.

His house keys!

Sena's house keys!

The brunet whirled around so that he was face-to-face with the blonde and he just realized that he was trapped between the Hybrid and the door to his sanctuary. The chances of him snatching the keys from those pale fingers were near zero. And he could not possibly run away…

Upon seeing the confusion played on the brunet's face, the Hybrid's smirk split into an ear-to-ear evil grin. Casually sticking one of the keys into the keyhole, the Hybrid opened the door. The sudden swinging of the door made Sena lost support on his back and tumbled backwards with a surprised cry. Before the smaller boy hit his head on the floor, the blonde caught him by the waist.

Sena told himself repeatedly that the heat rushing onto his face was fever, not blushing, not blushing, NOT blushing!

With the least effort, the Hybrid swung Sena onto his shoulder, supporting the brunet by the waist. Sena yelled but ignoring him, the Hybrid entered and kicked the door shut.

Oh… the white door was now embossed with a shoe print which was surely hard to be removed… and how the hell did the Hybrid know which key would open the door?


	4. Home Sweet? Home

A/n: Let's see… for this chapter's a/n… ah! To some of you, I'm not biased against cats, dogs or characters (except Mamori and Suzuna. Yes, I admit it openly).

Room 121!! I was ecstatic when I wrote that number. Who wants to follow me and sneak into that room?! The chance of success is below 0.000001 percent! But as Hiruma always say, we still have the chance if it isn't zero! I'm sneaking in! Who wants to follow?! We'll either meet with hell or heaven! (Hell: Hiruma catches us and gun us down, Heaven: We see something _good_.)

On second thought, there wouldn't be any heaven near Hiruma. So it's more like we'll definitely meeting hell.

Chapter 4 – Home Sweet(?) Home

* * *

"L-let go off me!" Sena struggled in his position.

"Shut up fucking shrimp," was all that was needed to make the brunet clamp his mouth and cease his attempt to escape.

Heart racing and whistles heard in his ears, Sena glanced nervously at the Hybrid. Then only did he realize that this Hybrid had no collar. _So he's a stray. _Most probably. Who knows that he might hide the collar like how Kakei always did. Caught off guard, Sena was dumped into the bathroom. Why must he always land on his injured back?

He shot his head up, eyes fearful of the blonde at the door. But instead of advancing, the taller man spoke with a dark grin, "Clean yourself or shall I help you?"

Lost of words, Sena could only rush up and slammed the door shut. His face was scarlet and he swore that he could boil water on his head. Through the door, a cackle was heard, followed by footsteps. Leaning against the door, Sena contemplated on what to do. He was shivering from coldness but his body felt warm. He brought his hand to his forehead. Yep, he was definitely having a fever. A high one to add to that. The brunet shook his head wildly; _this is not the time to think about that! _But his action made a pain shot through his head. He grabbed the counter to prevent himself to fall and smack his face on the tiles.

There was no time to care of his health. What was to be cared was the fact that someone had entered his house without permission and was now roaming around freely. All scary thoughts of what the Hybrid was capable of slithered themselves into Sena's head. _Enough! Enough! _Sena bunched his dark brown hair. _I've got to do something! Phone! Call someone!_

He dug his hands into his pockets. Empty. Oh right. He had kept his cell phone in his bag today. And he had dropped his bag when he was carried in. Why must it be today of all days…? Sena slumped to the floor, feeling that the world had crumbled down. _No! There's still the house phone!_

However, to get to the house phone meant that Sena had to sneak out without being noticed by the blonde. Was it even possible? Easier thought than done. But his life was at stake. He had to do it no matter what.

Mustering his remaining will power, Sena creaked open the door a tiny bit. He peered through the crack and was greeted with his living room. His light tan couch was untouched, portable TV perched on a mahogany desk with a vase of sunflower beside it. Nothing seemed out of place and even the Hybrid was nowhere to be seen. This was the chance that he could not let go.

Sena silently stepped out through the small crack, back pressed against the wall. He began tip-toeing towards the phone resting on a small table beside the couch. Why did he place it so far away…?

Just a few steps more. Five… three… two… just reach out the arm… _Get it! Get it!_

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Sena shot his hands up to shut the squeak of surprise that he had almost let out. Hands on mouth; Sena was rooted to the ground, shaking uncontrollably in fear. Crap. The Hybrid had found him. And yet, he was just one arm distanced from the telephone.

"I-I… eh… that's…" Sena shuddered when the blonde closed the gap between them.

"You really don't know how to clean yourself, do you?" he sneered, face dangerously close to Sena's that the brunet could feel the warm breath, "Or do you really want me to clean you…?"

The honey-brown pupils contracted into small circles in the middle of the wide eyes. Sena scrambled backwards, to put more distance between them, "N-no! I- that- I mean-" What should he say?

The blond Hybrid smirked and backed the brunet against the wall. Sena blushed a deep red and knew what was coming. The Hybrid lowered his head and with his swift tongue, licked the side of Sena's face. The brunet flinched and shot his hands at the blonde's chest, attempting to push him away. But just as how it was in the cabin, his effort was futile. The Hybrid was too large for his meek power to overwhelm.

Sena's body was shivering as the weird sensation kept spreading from his face to his entire body. His knees were jellies and he feared that he would collapse. He had to retaliate. He could not just let the Hybrid do what he wanted: sexual harassment. _Yes, that's what it was, wasn't it?_

"Stop it!" Sena yelled, but his words fell onto deaf ears. The slick tongue traveled down to his neck and when the wet muscle touched his trembling skin, Sena jerked violently. A strange feeling erupted in his stomach and it rushed to each and every part of his body. What was that? The brunet was sure that his face was steaming.

And just as sudden as it began, the Hybrid stopped his activity and pulled back. He smirked at the expression held on the brunet's face and bending down, he kissed Sena's forehead.

"Remember that, fucking shrimp," the blond Hybrid turned on his heels and strode towards the door.

A soft creak followed by a thud was heard and the house went silent. Sena stared at the closed door and he slid down onto the floor, not understanding anything. That blond Hybrid had come, harassed him, and left as if nothing had happened. What in the world was going on? Should he make a report on random Hybrid attacks? But the blonde did not bite him, nor scratch. Did he? No, he did not. Even if he did, Sena did not have the heart to actually report the attack and let the Hybrid be captured. If the authorities could… to this Hybrid…

Sena brought up his right hand and wiped the trail of saliva on his cheek. He shuddered at the contact. _He's just a Hybrid. He's just a Hybrid. It's alright. It's alright. Hybrid Dogs do that while cleaning or showing affection… Affection? I doubt that Hybrid could… _

The brunet remained on the floor, still shocked by all the bizarre events that were cramped in one day. _This is crazy. Am I going crazy? No, this could be just a dream. A nightmare. Yes, a nightmare. I'll wake up. Wake up and it'll be just a normal day…_

He pinched his arm and when he felt the slight pain, he began to quiver. This was all not a nightmare. A dry laugh slipped past Sena's lips and he pushed himself up to his staggering feet. Then, he must be out of his mind… those were all illusions… he was just tired out by the beatings by those three delinquents… yeah… he was just tired… he needed to sleep…

Somehow, in a way or another, Sena had managed to drag his body to his bedroom. And without removing his wet clothes, he dropped onto the bed and fell into a slumber with nightmares of a certain blond Hybrid.

_

* * *

_

Knock! Knock!

_Ehm… what's that…?_

_Knock! Knock!_

_Who's that…? Knocking on the door?_

"Sena! Are you in there?!"

Kobayakawa Sena forced his eyelids open and was momentarily blinded by the blazing sunlight that shone through the window. _Didn't I always close the curtains?_

"Can you hear me, Sena?!"

Groaning to himself, the brunet pushed himself into a sitting position. His body felt warm and heavy. Had he been transported into a warp dimension? Why was his room spinning and was his door always that tall and wavy? He massaged his temples in an effort to get the sudden headache away. He staggered to his feet, dangerously ready to fall over.

The knocks at the door came again, and the same voice sounded, "Sena?!"

It was Kakei's voice; the concern and worry unhidden. When Sena exited his bedroom, the world jerked violently and he lost balance, falling face-first.

"Sena?! Is that you?!" Kakei's voice came again. His sharp hearing sense had registered the soft thud of a body hitting the floor. "Are you alright?" he knocked on the door louder.

The brunet cursed in his mind and propped himself up with his elbows. That did hurt a lot. He had to use the wall as support and finally reaching the door, carelessly stuck in the key he had grabbed from near the house phone. As soon as the door swung open, Kakei's worried face came into view.

"Sena! Are you alright?!" he began, "I've waited for nearly an hour and you didn't showed up. What happened?"

"E-eh?" Sena could not register what the Hybrid Golden Retriever had so suddenly blurted out.

"I mean, you were later than your usual time, so I thought that something might have happened," Kakei continued in the same tone.

"I-I'm fine," the brunet still did not fully understand what the Hybrid was rambling about.

"That's good…" a relief sigh escaped Kakei's lips. He did a double-take as he took in Sena's messed-up appearance, "Um… Sena, what happened yesterday…?"

"Eh…? Yesterday?" Sena appeared confused. He wrecked his brain but the attempt made his headache worse. Finally, it hit him. And he wished it had not. The memories that he did not want to remember returned full force: that blond Hybrid. Were not them just an illusion?

"Have you caught a fever?" Kakei placed a hand on Sena's forehead. Yes, he was definite. "And you smell odd…"

"Eh?"

"…kind of like the smell of another Hybrid Dog…"

"EH?!" Sena began to panic inwardly. What did Kakei mean? There was no way he could smell like another Hybrid Dog. The episodes of the previous day were just illusions, right?

"Did you meet with another Hybrid Dog…?" the concern in Kakei's face had changed into an unreadable expression and his voice had lowered.

"N-no!" the brunet panicked, "W-why are you here today?! D-do you need something?!" he tried to change the topic.

It seemed like Kakei went with the flow unconsciously and his previously narrowed eyes changed back to their normal sizes, "What do you mean why? I always walk you to school."

"School?" pure confusion was shown on Sena's face.

"Oh, right!" Kakei realized something important, "you're going to be late, it's already 7:30."

7:30

7:30

"7:30?!!" Sena yelled in horror and without any second wasted, rushed into the bathroom.

Kakei was left where he was, dumbfounded. _"What do you mean why? I always walk you to school." _Sena should have known that by now. So why did he still ask? The Hybrid Golden Retriever stuffed his hands in his pockets; mixed feelings dominated his inside. Then his sensitive nose picked up a smell, the smell that was on Sena. He glanced around. The scent was all over the house; each and every corner. Kakei frowned. The thought of another Hybrid Dog leaving their scent on Sena made him burn in fury.

Just then, Sena bolted out of the bathroom, hair still wet and grabbed his schoolbag. "I'm sorry for making you wait!" he banged the door shut and locked it when the two of them were out, "I'm really sorry!"

"You don't have to apologize!" Kakei was surprised and did not know why Sena had apologized, "But you're having a fever. Why don't you stay home?"

"N-no, I'm alright!" Sena flipped his cell phone to look at the time. 7:40. "I'm gonna be late!" and without further delay, they flew down the stairs, dashed out of the apartment and sprinted towards school, both forgotten about their own worries.

* * *

School was horrible. Although he had managed to arrive in time, he could not concentrate in the classes. He should have taken Kakei's advice and stayed home. But too bad, he did not. It was bad enough that Monta had kept questioning about his late arrival. Mamori had pestered on his obvious fever and kept telling him to go home and get some rest. She had even offered to walk him home and take care of him. But Sena had refused politely, telling her that he was fine for the hundredth time of that day.

More than once, he had lost balance and smacked his face on the floor. He could not describe how glad he was that time just flew by and the bell rang for dismissal. He excused himself from Monta and Mamori telling them that he wanted to quickly go home and rest.

So, he left them and dashed home. It was a miracle that he did not crashed into any walls or passed out in the middle of the road. The tall building came into view and the first thought that came to his mind was, _Bed…_

The climb to the first floor was heavy as lead and he could not focus his steps. At long last, he reached his floor and gasped for air. Maybe he should take the day off tomorrow. The simple printed '121' on the front of his door gazed at him innocently, welcoming him home.

Sena sighed tiredly and unlocked the door. Pushing it forward, he almost choked on air and stumbled in; falling onto his knees and his hands prevented him from smacking his face on the floor again. This was all just an illusion right?

There lounging on his couch was the blond Hybrid. THE blond Hybrid who had sexually harassed him in the illusions. He smirked at the brunet on the floor, an arm behind his head as a pillow and the other lazily dropped so that it touched the floor and his long legs hung over the other end of the couch. Oh, he had made himself at home.

"W-what?!" Sena stuttered, disbelief written all over his face, "W-why are you here?!"

With the least effort, the blonde pulled out a machine gun and snickered, "Can't I?"

Sena gasped at the sight of the weapon but he braced himself, "O-of course you can't! You broke into my house! T-that's against the law!"

The evil smirk widened, "I thought you have known. But human laws do not apply to Hybrids."

The blonde was right. But was not breaking in still wrong? Wait, but that was for a human. What about Hybrids? Sena could not find any words to say. After all, he did not know the laws imposed to Hybrids.

"B-but there's one thing that I'm sure of…" Sena began in a low voice, "Carrying firearms around are illegal!" he pointed an accusing finger at the shiny arsenal.

The Hybrid grinned. He swung his legs and sat up, facing the brunet on the floor. "I think I need to introduce myself, should I not?"

Sena gulped. The sarcastic tone made him shuddered.

"Hiruma Youichi, Hybrid German Shepard. Current resident: Autumn Breeze Apartment, Room 121." The introduction ended with a cackle.

The evil laughter rang in Sena's ears. Horror and fright chilled his bones. One was that he had been in a mess with the rumored Devil Hybrid who was known of his blackmail and illegal firearms. The Devil Hybrid who taunted everyone to carry out his command. The Devil Hybrid who everyone was afraid of. Hiruma Youichi.

And two, this Devil Hybrid German Shepard had made himself at home in Autumn Breeze Apartment Room 121. Kobayakawa Sena's house…

And with that final thought, Sena passed out, either due to his fever or his fright.

Where did his ordinary life go…?


	5. Tadaima! I'm home!

A/n: I think I made Kakei a little OOC. If he is, please tell me and what about him was OOC and I'll try to change.

Chapter 5 – Tadaima (I'm home)

* * *

Consciousness slipped into him like gentle ripples of waves, slowly, slowly washing ashore. When he cracked open his droopy eyelids, his vision met the image of the ceiling. The surroundings were dark and no rays of sunlight streamed through the white curtains. It was nighttime, maybe around midnight. He propped himself onto his elbows, careful not to make his slight headache worse.

Sena squeezed his eyes shut when a tingling pain shot through his head and down his shivering body. He groaned inwardly and massaged his temples. He stared at the covers which had slid down to his waist and wondered when he had gone to bed. His body felt heavy as lead and although the surroundings were fairly cool, his inside was boiling making him tremble.

Raising his head a little, the brunet gasped in shock, instinctively backing away. Sat at the end of his bed was Hiruma; the Hybrid German Shepard, casually leaning against the wall. The light reflected by the moon showered on him, making his gleaming metal piercings and sharp features stand out. A cool silent atmosphere enveloped around him and when those emerald shards glided their attention to the smaller boy, Sena felt a sudden pierce in his chest. The shadow shone on Hiruma's face made him appear like a real devil as how his title went.

A moment of silence stretched between them, embracing them with its cold harsh arms. Time ticked by and all Sena could do was kept his eyes on Hiruma's.

"You're awake" the slightly rough voice of the Hybrid shattered the silence and Sena jerked back to full attention when the blonde got up from where he was settled.

With each step Hiruma took towards the brunet, the panic and fear in Sena built up. He wanted to shout and scream for help, but his throat was tight and dry as if a small voice would make it bleed. He desperately clung onto the sheets and tried to blend into the headboard when the blonde was right beside him.

A warm hand ruffled his dark brown hair and Sena blinked, caught off guard. Timidly, he raised his eyes to the blonde's, confusion crystal-clear. He did not understand anything regarding this blond Hybrid. Just the day before, he was harassed and now he was being treated kindly. Or maybe not, for the latter.

Hiruma sat on the edge of the bed, the added pressure made it creak. No words were spoken and Sena felt uneasy. He did not really know what he should do with an uninvited guest, no, a stray Hybrid German Shepard who broke into his house by using who knew what methods. For the worse, he could be attacked and it would all be over. He never wanted that!

Sena gulped silently, choosing his words carefully not wanting to provoke the Hybrid. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but he had to make the right choice or risk being harmed. "Erm… e-excuse me…"

Hiruma gave a small 'Hmph' but did not face the brunet.

"Er… that… I mean…" Sena quickly wrecked through his brain of what he should say. He wanted to ask why the Hybrid harassed him, why he was here, how did he entered, and so much more that he did not know which to ask first.

Finally, he resorted to the simplest question, "Why did you do all those?"

At this, Hiruma languidly tilted his head towards Sena and the brunet flinched and braced himself, thinking that he would receive a hit. When no pain came, he snuck a peek cautiously. Hiruma was gazing at him with those gleaming emerald shards.

"What why?" he replied casually, no hint of anger was heard.

A slight feeling of security washed over Sena. Could it be that this Hybrid meant no harm? "I mean… yesterday… in the alley…"

"Oh that. You were beaten up into crap and if you were left in the rain, you'll die."

Sena stared at the blonde, a weird but warm sensation coil around his heart making it throb. Did it mean that the Hybrid cared for him? "And… how did you know my house?"

"I followed your scent duh," the blonde rolled his eyes. _Not really yours, since I've rubbed my own scent on you at that time. _

"…and… how exactly did you break into my house?"

"I didn't break in," Hiruma dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a shiny silver key. He shook it mockingly in front of the honey-brown eyes and smirked, "after you left the cabin, I dropped by the forger with your house key."

Sena blinked, "EH?! No way!!"

The blonde's smirk split into an ear-to-ear grin.

"And you can't forge a key in that small amount of time!"

"Oh really…?" Hiruma stuffed back the key into his pocket, "But the forger did not want his wife to know that he was having an affair…"

The brunet could only stare in shock. There goes the devil's notorious blackmail material. Hearing of it was scary enough, and actually witnessing it was… a nightmare…

"Just go back to sleep fucking shrimp."

"Eh?"

"You've got a fever, so get some rest," Hiruma shrugged matter-of-factly, "I'm not gonna do anything to you in your sleep," he smirked at the last comment.

Sena shuddered openly and inched away from the Hybrid. But it was true that he was feeling tired and his head had begun to spin. The brunet stole another nervous glance at the blonde before slipping under the covers. Although wanting to stay up and alert, his body had the better of him and soon enough, he fell into a slumber.

Hiruma casually rested his fury tail on Sena's chest and the brunet shifted a bit. The shallow breathings sounded through the room and Hiruma gazed at the sleeping face of the smaller boy. He reached out his hand and caressed the smooth cheek gently.

_Do you remember?_

_When we first met?_

_Do you remember?_

_The first words you said to me?_

_Do you remember?_

_The smile you gave me?_

_Do you know how much that mean to me?_

_Do you know how much you mean to me?_

_Can you hear my voice?_

_Can you hear this inner confession?_

* * *

How long had he been asleep? It felt like eternity. Honey-brown eyes were slowly visible and the image of the ceiling in front of him was blurred. He stayed in the same position long enough to get his head back to the present. Sena groaned as he supported himself into a sitting position. The bedroom was silent as death and the only occupant was himself. Resigned to the truth that the Hybrid German Shepard existed and had appeared in his life, the brunet swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood unsteadily. Seemed that he had not yet recovered.

He crossed the room and exited to the equally silent living room. An uncomfortable feeling rested in his chest. To think that the Hybrid German Shepard was not anywhere in the house created the invisible chain that wound itself around his heart. It did not mean that Sena missed the blonde. It was just that having someone with him in this lonely house was something that he had not experienced for quite some time.

Sena sighed tiredly and he glanced up at the clock on the wall. 6:34AM. Around this time, he would leave home with Kakei to school. He wondered if the Hybrid was waiting outside. _School… that's right… _He was going to take the day off due to his fever. The brunet let out another wary sigh and then only did he realize that he was still in his school uniform from the day before. So Hiruma had only brought him to his bed, nothing else… _Good._

He strode to the shoe-printed white door and slowly opened it. His guess was right; Kakei was leaning against the wall opposite him. The Hybrid Golden Retriever looked up and pushed himself off the wall.

"Sena, are you alright? You don't look so well" the worried tone was unhidden in Kakei's voice.

"Erm… yeah," Sena scratched the back of his head, "Today I won't be attending school…"

"You shouldn't have attended yesterday too," Kakei placed a hand on Sena's forehead, "but you seem better today."

"Yeah, as soon as I returned home yesterday-" Sena halted mid-way. He could not tell Kakei about Hiruma. How would he react? The weird expression that Kakei had when he asked whether Sena had met another Hybrid Dog was unnerving enough. He did not even dare to think what would happen if he told Kakei about Hiruma. More ever, Hiruma was the Devil Hybrid and Kakei would surely step in to protect Sena. That, Sena did not want. When he was younger, he had witness two Hybrid Dogs fight. And truthfully, the one that he saw was vicious as hell. If he remembered correctly, both were injured, but one of them was much worse than the other. What would be the outcome of a fight between this 180cm tall Hybrid Golden Retriever and the Devil Hybrid German Shepard?

Sena shuddered at the thought and quickly continued his initial sentence, "-I slept through the whole evening. I even forgot to change my clothes." He ended it with a small laugh, hoping that Kakei would not see through his lie.

"I… see," the hesitation did not go unnoticed, "then I guess you still have to rest today."

"Uh, yeah," an overwhelming sense of guilt weighed down and Sena had the sudden urge to blurt out the truth. Although he did not wish to have anything to do with the devil of a Hybrid, he also did not want to cause any possible fights and injuries. Being the middle person was grim… especially when the other two parties were someone strong and scary…

"Do you need any help?" Kakei questioned, "Do you want me to take you to the doctor?"

"Uh, no, it's alright," Sena chuckled sheepishly, "I'm able to take care of myself. You don't have to worry."

"But still… I can't leave you alone."

"It's alright. You should spend more time with Mizumachi…"

Sena regretted saying that when a dark silence settled in momentarily. Seemed like he had said the wrong thing. That slight crease in the brows expressed the hidden frustration Kakei had. Sena still did not know the reason to why Kakei dislike being with Mizumachi. Such a bright and cheerful person could not have treated his own pet that badly, could he? Or maybe Mizumachi had done something wrong and Kakei was angry with it? The brunet parted his lips to apologize, but the Hybrid spoke first.

"…You're right… after all he's my rightful master," a sad smile made its way on Kakei's lips and his brows were turned down. He appeared so much like an abandoned puppy, no, abandoned dog…

"…I'm sorry," Sena scratched his cheek, his eyes on the floor, "I didn't mean-"

"It's okay Sena, I understand."

The brunet brought his gaze up at the Hybrid hesitantly.

"You need lots of undisturbed rest," the Hybrid Golden Retriever had that usual smile of his, "then, I'll take my leave. Is it alright if I drop by later? Sometime around the afternoon?"

"Ye-yeah, sure," Sena sweated but he was glad that Kakei was the same Kakei that he knew.

The two of them exchange their 'see you later's and the Hybrid Golden Retriever strode off. Sena stood at the door until the last shadow of Kakei disappeared down the stairs at the far end of the corridor. Then he stepped back into his sanctuary and shut the door.

The brunet slumped onto the floor and just realized how tired and hungry he was. He had not taken breakfast, ate a little for lunch and passed out for dinner yesterday. The day before yesterday, when he was beaten up, he had skipped breakfast, ate yet a little for lunch and slept through dinner. Two small amount of lunch for two days, how great. Despite his small build, he was still a growing boy and he had to eat in order to grow taller and also for energy. For the second reason, it could also be meant to survive…

Sena pushed himself up and staggered to the kitchen, his stomach growling. He stared into the nearly empty refrigerator with a dejected face. _I forgot to buy the groceries yesterday… and I doubt I can walk properly today… _He moved towards the cabinet and what did he find there? A box of cereal and some crackers. How miserable could his life get?

_Forget about food… shower… I need to shower. _Stomach still growling in hunger, Sena dragged himself into the bathroom. As he was unbuttoning his white shirt, he just remembered that he was having a fever. He looked at himself in the mirror and noticed how pale he was and the shades under his eyes due to fatigue. Should he really shower? Deciding to go against his thought, Sena threw off his wrinkled clothes and stepped into the stall. A warm shower would be alright and he had not scrubbed himself clean since yesterday morning.

It did not take long before the brunet emerged from the bathroom clad in a white cotton shirt and dark blue sweat pants. A shower did slightly change his physical appearance, but he felt heavier in the inside. He should not have taken a shower.

His eyes were spinning and he dropped onto the couch, face beet red. His school bag was just inches away from him and he dug his hand into it, pulling out his cell phone. He should inform Monta and Mamori of his absence or they would be worried sick.

_I'm not coming to school today. I'm not feeling very well but I'll be fine with some rest._

_-Sena_

The brunet stared at his very short message and sighed but he pressed the 'Send' button anyway. Placing the phone and his bag onto the floor, Sena stretched his whole body, effectively occupying the light tan loveseat. His eyes began to flutter shut but he forced them open again. He had not clean the house for at least two weeks and knew that dust had accumulated in every corner. And Kakei had said that he would come later. He should at least make the house somehow presentable and welcoming. However, he could not find the strength to get up and move.

_Click_

_What's that?_

_Creak_

_Huh?_

_Slam!_

_Eh?_

"What're you doing fucking shrimp?"

_EH?!_

The brunet shot up his head and to his horror, stood at the door was Hiruma carrying a rather large sports bag. "EH?! W-what?! Why are y-you here?!" Sena stuttered.

"Shouldn't it be me who ask why are you HERE?" Hiruma kicked his shoes off, "You should be in bed shouldn't you fucking shrimp?"

The blonde stepped towards the shocked brunet. He leaned over the couch and whispered into the smaller boy's ear, "Or are you waiting for my return?" in a seductively dragged tone.

Sena jumped up in surprise at the close proximity and he would have fell and hit his head on the floor if not for the blonde to grab his arm. If two reds could mix to form a much brighter red, than that was what had rose up to Sena's cheeks which spread even to the ears. Although he wanted to complain and shout, he could not find the words and courage to do so. Instead he stared feverishly at the Hybrid German Shepard from where he was.

Hiruma snickered upon seeing the expression on the brunet's face and dropped his bag onto the couch.

Sena turned his attention to the red sports bag and unconsciously asked, "What's… that?"

"My bag, of course. But I'll be picking up some more later," Hiruma rolled his eyes.

"Eh?" confusion written all over his face, Sena gazed up at the blonde.

Hiruma raised an eyebrow, "I'm moving my stuffs here, don't you get it?"

"Huh? Why?"

"I told you, my current residence is here, Autumn Breeze Apartment Room 121. Have you forgotten, fucking shrimp?"

For a moment, silence rang in the room.

"YOU'RE SERIOUS ABOUT THAT?!"

"Of course I am. Ke ke ke"


	6. Appearance of Another

Chapter 6 – Appearance of Another

* * *

The flowers were still fully bloomed and a cool morning breeze blew gently making the green leaves swirl in the air. A drop of morning dew slid down a leaf, reaching the tip and dripped down. The scent of nature waved through the atmosphere. In this kind of surrounding, one would usually be calmed and forget about all the bad things that had happened. But not for him this time.

Since it was still early in the morning, the park was quiet and empty. Kakei Shun strolled around absent-mindedly with no exact destination. His mind was completely blank and that was shown on his monotonous face. His mood was not very good either, but his posture remained strong.

Finally, he settled on a bench and leaned back, his head tipped to the azure cloudless sky which was reflected in his sea blue eyes. Then all the thoughts he had had from the past two days came into his empty mind.

Everything had seemed normal; Sena was shy as usual and he, Kakei, was still trying to persuade Sena to be his master. Until the day when the brunet was late… It was strange that Sena woke up late since he was always on time. And also, he appeared confused of the situation and wondered why Kakei was in front of his door. The Hybrid Golden Retriever felt a weird depressing clench in his stomach. Sena should have well known that he would always be there. The worst of all was that the scent of another Hybrid Animal filled Sena's house and even some lingered on the teenager. A tinge of anger boiled inside Kakei. _A mark of territory…_

He heaved a soft sigh and let his eyes close, not wanting to think any further. However, he could not entirely block his thoughts. Sena was having a fever today, no, more like yesterday, and was now resting at home. Home. Where that foreign smell was in every corner. Kakei lightly shook his head to get that thought out. Sena had then told him that he should spend more time with Mizumachi. In reality, he did not hate his master at all; the loud blonde was just annoying at times.

He knew a little of Mizumachi's past. The blonde had once joined in the swimming club and when he wanted to enter the Nationals, the team members betrayed him. That event had created a deep scar in the blonde and he had become paranoid of swimming, which was why he never brought Kakei to the sea or any places with a wide area of water. This bored Kakei a lot, since he had naturally loved water and the constant seeing of land, land and dry land added fuel to the fire. And finally, Kakei sought something else that he liked: the new person who moved into the apartment on the first floor, Kobayakawa Sena. From then on, Kakei was determined to make Sena his master.

Somehow, the Hybrid Golden Retriever felt that if Mizumachi knew about this, the blonde would be hurt. Although Kakei did not really know how being betrayed felt like, he knew that Mizumachi was hurt enough from the betrayal of his team members. If ever he knew that his own Hybrid pet was betraying him…

Kakei unconsciously clenched his fists. He did not want to hurt his own master but he still wanted to be with Sena. Only one solution existed: do not let Mizumachi know.

He heard light footsteps coming towards his direction and the scent of an unknown Hybrid touched his nose. Kakei opened his eyes to keep his defense up but did not move from his position.

"You sound a bit off mood, aren't you?"

At this, the Hybrid Golden Retriever pulled back his head and faced the Hybrid Dog standing a few feet away from him. Black floppy ears protruding from the mass of dark pink hair and a long thin tail continued from his spine. Clad in a long sleeved white tee shirt and pale purple pants and carrying a guitar case behind him; a Hybrid Rottweiler.

Kakei glared at the other Hybrid; daring him to pick a fight. Due to the annoyed mood he was in, he spoke out, "Who are you?"

"My, my, I apologize for my rudeness," the Hybrid Rottweiler took off the sunglasses he had been wearing, revealing a pair of red eyes that looked as heavy as lead, "Akaba Hayato, I presume you know what Hybrid I am, Golden Retriever."

"Yeah," Kakei watched the unnatural red eyes with his sea blue ones, "I am Kakei Shun."

"May I sit beside you?" Akaba asked with the same tone Kakei had.

Without a word, the Hybrid Golden Retriever moved to one side of the bench and the Hybrid Rottweiler took a seat, clicked open the guitar case and heaved out a black electric guitar. From the corner of his eyes, Kakei stared at Akaba who placed the empty case beside him. Then the Hybrid Rottweiler strummed the strings, making one long sound before began playing a music which sounded in line with the genre 'rock'.

Kakei raised an eyebrow but Akaba was too busy playing the guitar to notice. A sweat dropped from Kakei's face and he wondered why did this out-of-nowhere Rottweiler appeared and played the guitar beside him. The music was quite pleasant to say and Kakei could not help it but admire how Akaba strummed the strings with ease. The Hybrid Rottweiler must have played the guitar for a long time.

When the music had ended, Akaba spoke, "Did that lift up your mood a bit?"

The Hybrid Golden Retriever looked taken aback and he could only stare at the other with a blank face. It was true that for a while, he had forgotten about his worries. But that was not because of the music, but the sudden weird appearance of this Hybrid Rottweiler.

"…yeah," Kakei whispered hesitantly, "but how did you know I was down?"

Akaba strummed the strings again and a long note sounded, "Phew. Your rhythm was too high for a calm person and that would not make a melodious harmony."

Kakei raised an even higher eyebrow than before, not understanding what this Hybrid Rottweiler was lecturing about. What does the mood had to do with the guitar?

Deciding to ignore it, Kakei sighed softly and leaned back, relaxing, "I don't understand you, but you don't seem to have any bad intentions."

"It isn't 'seem'," Akaba chuckled, "I don't have any bad intentions at all."

They sat in silent, enjoying the cool atmosphere. All previous dark thoughts had been pushed away by the sudden arrival of Akaba Hayato. The stillness was peaceful and comforting. Not even the rustle of leaves sounded. Still gazing up at the sky, Kakei broke the silence, "Are you a stray?"

There was a slight pause before Akaba answered, "No."

Kakei glanced at the Hybrid Rottweiler and Akaba pointed out the indigo spider web-decorated collar around his neck. A small smile grazed Akaba's lips, "You don't have to hide yours."

Instinctively, Kakei shot up his hand to the plain dark blue collar around his neck which was attempted to be hidden behind the jacket.

"How did you manage to see?" Kakei faced the other Hybrid, "And didn't you hide yours too?"

"It's just a coincidence and I caught a glimpse of your collar when you were watching the sky," Akaba put on his sunglasses again, "and no, I didn't hide mine. You just didn't notice it."

The Golden Retriever eyed the Rottweiler, a tinge of disapproval crept into Kakei's chest.

"Do you hate your master that much?"

A sudden electric spark shocked through Kakei's body and he stomped to his feet. Not looking at the Hybrid Rottweiler, he whispered in a harsh tone, "That's none of your business." And he strode away in heavy steps, brows furrowed and eyes filled with anger.

* * *

"Oi, fucking shrimp."

"Y-yes?"

"You don't have any food," Hiruma pointed at the practically empty refrigerator which only contained a carton of milk and some eggs, "How the hell did you survive?"

"Eh, that's…" Sena peaked from behind the couch, "I hadn't restocked it… it was supposed to be yesterday. But you know… I passed out…"

"Ceh," the blonde slammed the door shut, "of course you passed out with that kind of high fever."

_Or maybe because I was afraid and shocked by you… _the brunet thought to himself. Maybe he should go out today and buy something or he should just eat out. But he remembered that Kakei would be coming later and he was not sure how long he would take to stagger through the town. Since he had skipped breakfast for two days, why not for the third day?

Sena's stomach objected and growled and the brunet slapped himself mentally. No matter what it took, he should eat something. At least he still had the cereal and some crackers which could last him for some time. He disliked the idea but he also had the option of asking Kakei to grab something on his way here.

The brunet watched the blonde pacing around the kitchen, not sure of what to do with the Hybrid German Shepard. And then realization hit his head. Kakei was coming later. And if he met with Hiruma… what?

_OH NO!_

"Erm… H-Hiruma?" he should try to convince the Hybrid to leave.

"Hmph?"

"I mean… why do you want to move here?" Sena chose each word with caution, "You have that… ca-house right? The one in our school grounds."

"Oh that," the blonde emerged from the kitchen and strode towards the brunet who backed away a little, "that's just an unused clubhouse and I turned it into a living area."

"Eh?" pure confusion.

"Whatever," Hiruma grabbed his bag and dragged it into Sena's bedroom, "that's not a permanent house. Just a shelter."

"You mean, you're a stray?"

The Hybrid German Shepard stepped out of the bedroom, bag no where in hands. His expression showed that Sena had asked him a question so stupid he did not know whether he should answer or not. "I don't have a fucking collar."

"I-I'm sorry. It's just that, since you had a house, I thought you were probably owned."

Hiruma rolled his eyes and sank into the couch beside the brunet. Sena jerked back and inched to the corner, trying to create more distant between them without being too obvious.

"Then… what about Cerberos?" he had to start a conversation to distract the blonde and prevent him from carrying out any 'cleaning' activities which he had experienced two times. He had had enough.

"What about that fucking mutt?"

"I mean… is he your brother…?"

"Nah, he's just a Hybrid Mutt I picked up few years ago," Hiruma grabbed the remote on the nearby table and switched on the television.

"A Hybrid Mutt?"

"Yeah, a mutt, mutt. Unknown species exactly," the blonde flipped through the channels.

"Oh, I see…" Sena turned his attention to the television but he stole nervous glances at the blonde, "s-so… are you leaving him alone in that house?" The thought of having Hiruma and Cerberos in his house sent a shiver down Sena's spine.

"Yeah, he could live on his own," the blonde had not settled on any channel yet, "I'm not his fucking master."

"Eh? He's a stray too?" the brunet could not hide the surprise in his voice.

Hiruma raised an eyebrow at Sena, "'course he is."

The brunet could not keep the conversation going and he had even forgotten his initial mission somewhere through the talk. The Hybrid German Shepard had made himself so comfortable at home that he did not spare a thought of what was going through Sena's mind. Sena cried mentally and wished that somehow this devil of a Hybrid would leave.

"Oi, fucking shrimp."

"Uh, y-yeah?"

"You're still pretty ill. Go to bed." It was a command.

"Eh? N-no, it's al-" Sena was cut off with a sharp glare by the blonde and the brunet leaped to his feet, grabbed his cell phone and ran to his bedroom, slamming the door shut.

Inside, the brunet panted. He really should not have run. After all, what Hiruma said was true: his fever had not gone down yet. Sena heaved a heavy sigh and made his way to his disarray bed. Suddenly, he tripped onto something and dropped onto the crumpled sheets. He supported himself up and glanced at the rather large object on the floor: Hiruma's bag.

Sena stared at the not-so-innocent bag on the floor. He began to wonder what it contained but instinct told him that he would never want to know the contents. He climbed onto his bed and lied down, not knowing what he should do from here on. His stomach was growling in hunger and he knew well that he should eat or he would fall dead. But he could not bring himself to defy Hiruma's orders and sneak out. More ever, he did not have enough energy to stand any longer. Deciding that something that could happen twice, could happen trice, Sena told himself to just go with the flow and let sleep overtake him.

He did not realize that he had forgotten something crucial.


	7. From Devil to Satan

A/n: I won't be able to update weekly anymore. Well, only until the end of July… I think. I'm very busy. So I'll take a bit of a holiday. Please don't expect the next chapter to come out too soon. Thank you.

* * *

Chapter 7 – From Devil to Satan

_The dark sky was crying and each drop of tears blurred the vision of the buildings. Nothing could be heard except for the regular beating of rain on the surface of the Earth and the splashing of water as his shoes landed on puddles of water. He was on his way home from school; alone since Mamori had cleaning duty at school. With the dark clouds hanging in the sky, the surroundings were getting dark and he hurried his steps._

_Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted a huddled figure in an alleyway. On that day, he had been tired and down for some reason, and with the curiosity of a thirteen year old he was, he made his way slowly towards the figure. His grip on his umbrella tightened and when he was a few feet away from the huddled body, he just realized that it was a Hybrid Dog and naked fear crept up his spine._

Sena cracked his eyes open and stared up at the ceiling hazily. What was that dream? It felt a bit weird, as if that dream was real. He rolled to his side and grabbed his phone to check the time. It was only ten in the morning and there were two messages, one from Monta and the other from Mamori. He sighed inwardly and could already guess what the messages said. Monta had only replied with an 'Okay, take care MAX!' but Mamori had sent him what could have been counted as an essay if not for it being a cell phone message, telling him to get a lot of rest, eat the proper food and take medicine.

Sena chuckled to himself and sat up groggily, flipping the phone shut and placing it beside his pillow again. Although knowing that a sick person should stay in bed, he could no longer sleep. He got up to his feet and began making his bed. When he had placed the duvet neatly at the foot of the bed, he hauled himself out of the room. First thing to do: grab something to eat! Almost dragging his feet, Sena staggered to the cabinet and pulled out the small packet of crackers. He tore open the plastic with a crackling noise and shoved a cracker into his mouth. Then he set to cleaning the dust off the living room.

The brunet withdrew the vacuum cleaner from the closet and started the equipment. Soon the roar of dust being sucked in filled the house. His body was still heavy but he felt much better than yesterday. No, not entirely better.

His stomach gave a loud growl of protest and Sena knew he had to compile to it or he would pass out anytime. _After cleaning… just hold it for a little while more… _he sighed inwardly and continued with his task, mentally blocking the thought of eating. Fifteen minutes flew by and the brunet switched off the vacuum, one hand on his hip and the other wiping his forehead and he looked around the house, satisfied with his job. He dumped the equipment back to its original place and dropped onto the couch where his school bag had lied from the day before. Tiredness that he had forgotten while cleaning, crashed back into him and he let out a low groan. However, there was a force more powerful than his tiredness that hammered onto his head and with a heavy effort he pushed himself up from the couch. The muscles of his aching body screamed in protest but Sena had gave in to a certain organ; his stomach.

He staggered to the kitchen and pulled out the miserable box of cereal and the carton of milk. After preparing himself a bowl of the cornflakes cereal, he carried it to the living room, settled on the couch and switched on the television. When he began eating, he realized that Hiruma was not anywhere in his home. Sena did not know whether he should feel relief or not. For one, indeed he was glad that the blonde was not around to taunt him. On the other hand, his house had become somehow silent, what with the pass few days scary as hell. Without the Hybrid German Shepard around, Sena felt a small tinge of loneliness.

The brunet shook his head wildly. No way! He did not miss Hiruma! Never, ever! He puffed up his cheeks and his brows furrowed, almost joining each other. He could never miss that devil! Annoyed with himself, he shoved spoonfuls of the cereal into his mouth and bore his eyes on the commercial flashed on the screen. But no matter how much he tried to concentrate on the new products introduced to the shops, Sena could not push the thought of the Hybrid German Shepard out of his mind. Finally, he switched off the television and groaned to himself. Something was really wrong with his head. He should visit a doctor and get his brain back to normal.

The spoon clattered against the bowl and the brunet stood up and strode towards the kitchen. He dumped the bowl with the spoon in it into the sink and began washing them. After drying his hands on the towel, he dragged his body back to the couch and thought of what he had to do next. Not much with his sick body. He heaved a soft sigh when his stomach growled again. A bowl of cereal was not enough to satisfy his hunger. The thought of asking Kakei to buy him some food on the way came back to the brunet's head and he groaned again. Even though he disliked the idea, he could not manage to go out on his own. Then another thought struck him. He could not even contact Kakei, so he could not ask. Sena laughed at himself softly. _How miserable can my life get…?_

Two soft knocks came on the door and the brunet sat up straight. Who was at the door? It could not be Hiruma, could it? Well, yeah. The possibilities were always there. However, the knocks did not continue and silence settled in. Sena wondered why the blonde had not just enter with his key or kick the door open, and so, curious of that, he got up slowly and made his way to the white door. He hesitated for a while and taking in a deep breath, he grabbed hold of the knob and twisted it. The door creaked open and honey-brown eyes peeked outside and Sena was fairly surprise to see Kakei Shun in the place where he thought Hiruma Youichi would be.

At once, he swung the door open wider to let the Hybrid Golden Retriever in, "Kakei, please come in!" He then remembered that Kakei would be dropping by around noon and a glance at the clock showed that it was indeed almost noon. How could he ever forget that?!

The Hybrid Golden Retriever gazed at the brunet in front of him. After that encounter with Akaba, he had wandered around the town feeling really annoyed. No, he had never hated Mizumachi, no matter how irritating that master of his could be. He had then hung around various areas of the town, not knowing what to do before remembering his promise to visit Sena. So now he was, standing at the door of the person he had so much wanted to be his master. For some reason, seeing the brunet lifted his mood a bit and he managed to let a small smile graze his lips.

However, there was one thing that did not allow him to be his normal kind and caring self. That was the heavy smell of another Hybrid which hung in the atmosphere and on the brunet, suffocating him and piercing his sensitive nose. He forced himself not to cringe in fury but his instincts told him not to enter this territory of another Hybrid. Both his ears and tail perked up in defense, and his body became stiff, ready to attack if anything would to pounce on him. Or Sena.

Sena stared at the expression on the Hybrid's face. He had never seen that slight crease on the forehead and forced smile. He began to worry for Kakei, but not knowing exactly what he should do. At last, he settled to one thing that was obvious for a host and his guest. He asked: "Would you like to come in?" and he stepped back to allow entrance for the Hybrid.

At the offer, Kakei was startled back to the presence of Sena. But that only lasted for a fraction of second before his guard was up and that defensive expression in place again. Noticing this, Sena wondered what was wrong. The Hybrid Golden Retriever had not budged from his spot; neither did he show any signs of trying to enter the house. _Maybe he isn't comfortable with it…?_

Sena sighed inwardly, "Erm… you don't look… very well…" he could not make eye contact, "I mean… if you don't want to, you can refuse, but… that is… would you prefer being somewhere else… if you're not comfortable with my home… I mean… it's just that- if you don't want to, you don't have to…" he trailed off into mumbles again.

The brunet's words seemed to register in Kakei's mind and his eyes sparked up, shining with relief and at the same time, excitement. "Well, do you want to go out then? We could get something to eat along the way if you want."

Sena shot up his head at once, "A-alright. I'm starving anyway" he rubbed the back of his neck, glad that Kakei was back to the same one he had known. "I'll just grab my wallet…" and he jogged to his bedroom.

"Didn't you have anything for breakfast?" Kakei called out, his words leaking with concern.

"A bowl of cereal," Sena emerged from his room, "and not so much for these past two days."

"Eh?" Kakei looked somewhere between shocked and worried, and Sena closed the door behind them, making sure to lock it.

"I didn't have the appetite, since you know, I wasn't feeling very well," the brunet laughed sheepishly and the two of them made their way down the stairs.

"I do think that your lack of nutritious is the one that made you ill," Kakei glanced at the brunet beside him who just replied with another shy chuckle. Once they were outside, the cool breeze of Spring brought to them the scents of flowers and the two of them strode casually towards the shopping district.

"What do you like to eat?" Sena asked Kakei, gazing around at the many small restaurants lining each side of them.

"I'm not that hungry. You can choose."

"Well then…" the brunet scratched his neck absent-mindedly, "Let's have some noodles."

* * *

Sena had practically gulped down the whole bowl of noodle in less than a minute. He felt as if he was in heaven after going hungry for two days. However, he had a concern that kept poking at him. That was the Hybrid Golden Retriever in front of him who was staring into his untouched and already cooled tea. The brunet put down his chopsticks and eyed the Hybrid with a worried look.

"Kakei, are you alright?"

The sudden question jerked him back to reality and Kakei shot up his downcast sea blue eyes to Sena's honey-brown ones. He swallowed silently and his voice came almost in a whisper, "No… nothing's wrong. I'm fine." But in truth, Kakei ached to throw out all that was concerning him and scream at himself. He wanted to tell Sena how much he really wanted Sena to be his master but at the same time, he did not want to betray Mizumachi. He wanted to tell Sena how much he really loved Mizumachi and how much he was shattered inside to choose between the choices he had created himself. But none of those came through his lips, instead he just smiled. He knew he was just lying to himself but he could not bear to spill out anything.

Sena could do nothing but kept his gaze at the Hybrid. He opened his mouth to speak, closed them, and opened again, "I know that I'm not much of help… but you can always talk to me." He dropped his gaze to the table, "You have always been around, and I don't know how to thank you enough… so, if there's anything that I can help, I'll do it."

If he had carried his eyes up, Sena would have seen the agonizing pain in Kakei's eyes. If only Sena had looked up, Kakei would have told him that he wanted nothing from Sena and that he only wanted to sort his mixed feelings out. If only…

* * *

The white door of his home was nearer with each step he took. He had felt much better since he had taken a walk outside his enclosed house. The cool air must have done the trick. After eating, Kakei had excused himself saying that he had something to do; with an apologetic look. With that said, the two parted ways and Sena had dropped by the grocery store to get what he needed for at least a week. Not a heavy load. Reaching the door, Sena stuck in his key and twisted the doorknob and stepped into his home. He padded to the kitchen and dropped his purchases on the counter.

"Where did you go?"

Sena let out a surprised yell and whipped around and bumped into a rather tall figure. The impact made him fall onto the ground and he shot his head up to look at a certain Hybrid German Shepard who was looming over him menacingly. Fear crept up the brunet's spine and his body began to tremble. Just the day before, he had somewhat came to a conclusion that he should not be afraid of Hiruma and that the Hybrid German Shepard would do nothing that would really harm him. But being towered like this made the fear rush back to life, not that it had died before…

Hiruma kneeled down so that their eyes were level and he voiced out again, clear and solid, void of any emotion, "Where did you go?"

Sena could not find his own voice and he could only shiver on the spot. He knew that he could not lie to this devil, but he did not want to land Kakei into trouble as well. So he just stayed quiet. But this seemed to aggravate the blonde more and he leaned forward till their faces were just inches apart.

"You reek of that fucking Golden Retriever," Hiruma did not bother to hide his anger and grabbing the back of Sena's head, he smashed his lips onto the brunet's. When Sena gasped in surprise, the blonde forced his tongue in. Sena fell backwards and Hiruma on top of him. The Hybrid German Shepard ravaged the smaller boy and when they parted for air, he did not stop. Hiruma dragged his tongue across Sena's cheek and onto the ear.

At this, sense snapped back into the brunet and he began his futile attempt of retaliation. His face was scarlet and the rush of heat could make him explode anytime soon. The weird sensation of the Hybrid's slick tongue spread from his ear to his neck and down to his collarbone.

For some reason, in the midst of being harassed, a logical thought crossed Sena's mind: Hiruma never bites. Oh, how clever could this devil be? He had never planted even one small bite on Sena, and therefore, the brunet could not report him as random attacks. Although a part of him knew that the authorities were not so big of a problem for this devil, he knew that it would be a fuss. Oh, this Satanic Hybrid German Shepard…


	8. Settling the Disputes

A/n: Err… hello everyone? Has it been a month since I last updated Hybrid? I think it's more… I'm sorry for taking such a long time, but I hope you will still read Hybrid. I haven't kept in touch with this fic so I hope I didn't change the course of the story or the characters. If there's something wrong, or some OOCness, please do tell me. Enough of my ramblings!

* * *

Chapter 8 – Settling the Disputes

Hiruma swiped his tongue across his collarbone and the tingling feeling shocked through Sena's body. He gasped and scrunched up his eyes, tears starting to weld at the corners. Unconsciously, he grabbed onto the blonde's shoulders and tried to push him away.

"S-stop it!" the brunet cried and it made his insides tight when he heard the tremble in his voice. Why did he sound so pathetic?

The plea fell onto deaf ears and Hiruma slid his hand under Sena's shirt, lifting the cotton attire up. The brunet let out a surprised gasp when the chilly air pricked his bare skin. Hiruma's large warm hand roamed all over his body and Sena hated himself for being so weak as to not be able to fight back. He felt sick and dirtied by this Hybrid. Even though Hiruma was just a Hybrid Animal, Sena thought that this blonde did not care of the differences between a human and a Hybrid. And if that was so, Sena knew that he was right now being molested.

When Hiruma's wet tongue touched Sena's abdomen, the brunet jerked and was thrown out from his inner monologue. His instinct kicked in, literally and he kneed the Hybrid on the chest with all the force he could master. Although he knew he was not the strongest person to be found, he was glad that the Hybrid was caught off guard and was thrown back a little enough for Sena to scuttle away from under the blonde.

"The fuck…" Hiruma growled; the low tone dangerous.

Just as Sena had managed to gain his footing, the blonde pounced on him and pinned him to the floor. The impact of his back slamming onto the tiled floor made a gasp of pain escape from his lips. Hiruma dove back to what he was doing before he was interrupted. The brunet struggled violently under the Hybrid, flailing his arms and kicking his legs to somehow regain his freedom. All attempts vain.

"Hiruma! Stop!" Sena yelled out, "Please…"

The last part came in a pathetic whimper and Sena felt rather inferior in the presence of the Hybrid. What should he do? What _could _he do? With his minuscule power, he could do nothing to retaliate. The brunet could feel the stinging feeling behind his eyes and he scrunched up his eyes. There was no way he would cry; not in front of Hiruma Youichi. It would just show how weak Sena was and encourage Hiruma further. No matter what, Sena would not allow himself to fall any lower than where he already was.

The blonde slowly pulled away from Sena. At this, the brunet carefully cracked his eyelids open and peeked at the blonde through his eyelashes; his vision slightly hazy. The emerald shards showed no expressions but as the honey brown orbs gazed deeper into them, Sena could see a small tinge of emotions. Anger? Sadness? Hatred? Disappointment? Fear? A mixture of thousands of emotions. Unidentified.

A nostalgic feeling washed into the brunet's chest. Where had he seen those shards which hid the true emotions? When had he seen them? His rasps began to relax and he kept his gaze locked with the blonde's. No matter how much he wanted to break the eye contact, something inside him prevented it. That something clawed his insides, forcing his mind to try to answer the thousands of questions that gushed in.

* * *

"_Erm… hello?" his timid voice came and he clutched his umbrella tighter._

_The figure shifted from its huddled position and it raised its soaked head slightly. Sena hissed in a sharp breath when his eyes made contact with those emerald ones of the Hybrid Dog. Those green eyes were sharp and piercing, but somewhere deep within; the blazing flame had died down, leaving a pair of dull and dead jewels._

_Pity washed over the thirteen-year old boy and carefully he kneeled down, so as not to scare the Hybrid, who did not move a single muscle. Water dripped down the messy blond hair of the Hybrid and despite the close proximity between Sena and him, he remained where he was._

"_Are you... abandoned?" Sena paused, "…or a stray?"_

_The blond Hybrid did not response but instead, he kept his eyes on the brunet. Sena gulped uneasily. He felt quite rude asking that question even though this blonde was a Hybrid. Sena's brows furrowed slightly and he dropped his gaze to the ground._

"_If only I could, I would take you in," a sad smile tugged the corner of the brunet's lips, "but well… you see… I'm just thirteen… and my parents, well…" Sena pursed his lips, "They wouldn't agree…"_

_The brunet laughed sheepishly and looked up. His honey-brown orbs met with those emerald shards again._

"_If we could meet again," Sena paused to think, "maybe when I'm in high school, I'll take you in and give you a home."_

_The thirteen-year old grinned shyly and stood up. He reached out his arm and handed the umbrella. "You'll fall sick if you stay soaked," Sena smiled; the rain starting to seep into his clothes._

_There was a slight hesitation before the Hybrid brought up his hand and wrapped his fingers around Sena's. The brunet tilted his head to the side questioningly when the Hybrid still hold onto his hand after the umbrella had left his grip. Slowly and gently, the blonde inched nearer and planted a kiss on the brunet's knuckles._

"_That's a promise" the Hybrid's husky voice came in a low tone, and he let go Sena's hand._

_A soft pink tinged the brunet's face and his lips curved up in a smile. "Yes, a promise."_

* * *

"No way…" Kobayakawa Sena's trembling voice broke the silence that had washed into the room. "It can't be… you're from that time…?"

Hiruma's eyes widened slightly at the words but his usual expression returned a split second later. "So you remembered. I've waited three fucking years for you to enter high school and when I did appear before you, you fucking don't remember me?"

"T-that's not like what you think!" Sena abruptly sat up, "Uh-well, I did forget about it… since that was three years ago…" In his mind, Sena was screaming for Hiruma not to kill him.

The blonde moved nearer and rested his forehead on Sena's. The closeness made the brunet turn a shade of red and he could feel the warmth radiating.

"Now that you remember," Hiruma locked his eyes with Sena, "you're taking me in."

* * *

"I never thought we would meet here and again" the Hybrid Rottweiler smirked at the Hybrid Golden Retriever.

Kakei glanced up at Akaba but said nothing and leaned back against the park bench. The pink-haired invited himself to sit beside the other Hybrid and settled comfortably. Both of them did not say a single word; enjoying the silence between them. Akaba Hayato gazed up at the slowly turning orange sky.

"So," he began, "how are things between you and your master?"

When he received no reply, Akaba continued, still staring up.

"He's your master, whether you like it or not. And we, Hybrid Dogs, are obliged to follow them once we accept the collars they give." Akaba paused, "I don't know about yours, but my master spends only a short length of time with me. He's too busy with his American Football club. I never complain about it because I know that he loves football very much and that he is striving to make his kicking team, which everyone assumed as unimportant, to be acknowledged."

Akaba glanced at the other Hybrid and his red eyes which were hidden beneath his dark glasses made contact with the sea blue ones of Kakei Shun. It seemed that the Hybrid Golden Retriever had caught some interest in his words. He chuckled softly and got up to his feet.

"You should have a talk with this master of yours." With that said, Akaba Hayato strode away, leaving a Kakei Shun deep in thought.

* * *

Mizumachi Kengo rushed into his home and scanned the place with his eyes. When his green eyes landed on Kakei who had just gotten up from the couch, he let out a sigh of relief.

"You didn't come to fetch me…" the blonde gave a weak smile, "so I thought something had happened to you…"

Kakei dropped his gaze to the floor and gulped silently.

"Well! Guess I was wrong!" Mizumachi grinned. The forced smile felt quite painful. He was truthfully worried that something might have happened to Kakei. However, another part of him felt that Kakei might have decided to ignore Mizumachi. "I'm really a worry-wart, eh?! Anyway, are you hungry? Do you want to go out and eat? Or have you eaten? Ah, today-"

"Mizumachi," Kakei interrupted, "can we talk?"

The blonde looked slightly surprised as his eyes landed on the Hybrid who had his sea blue eyes locked with his green ones. "…Sure…" On the contrary, Mizumachi sounded a bit unsure.

Both master and Hybrid sat on the couch, opposite of each other. An uneasy silence settled in. Mizumachi fidgeted in his seat. He was not used to this kind of situation, especially if the other party was Kakei Shun. What had he done wrong this time? What had he done that made Kakei this way? What should he do now? What if Kakei decided that he wanted to break their master and Hybrid relationship? He knew that he had closed a lot of himself to Kakei; he had never really told the Hybrid about the incident with the Swimming club. He knew very well that he was just selfish, but he did not want to worry Kakei. And the worst was his developed paranoia of swimming which prevented him from bringing Kakei to any waterside. He had been so ignorant; always thinking only for himself, never given a single thought for Kakei. Did Kakei hate him now?

While Mizumachi was having his inner worry, Kakei raised his gaze to Mizumachi and cleared his throat.

The Hybrid Golden Retriever took in a deep breath and bowed his head slightly, "I apologize for any misunderstanding I have caused."

A short silence ended Kakei's words. Mizumachi blinked; dumbfounded. "Uh… why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything wrong…" he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Everything that I have done until now. If they make you think that I hate you… I apologize."

"Eh?"

"I… I have never hated you. Never," Kakei took in a deep breath, "never once…"

Mizumachi stared at Kakei, unable to say anything. Had Kakei been thinking about that all these while? Was what Kakei said true? That he did not hate Mizumachi like how Mizumachi thought?

"I…" Mizumachi began slowly, "I thought that I wasn't a good enough master, and you'd hate me for that. So I tried my best to be a good master for you…" the words sounded slightly coarse in his throat and he chuckled lightly, "I guessed I failed didn't I?"

"No" Kakei raised his head and made eye contact with Mizumachi, "You're the best master I could have ever wished for."

The blonde stiffened, and slowly, a tinge of red embarrassment coloured his cheeks. He dropped his gaze to the floor, flattered by the sudden admitting from Kakei. "Erm… I… thanks…?"

The Hybrid Golden Retriever heaved a sigh of relief. He had said it. He had settled the misunderstandings between them two. Finally he had done it. He felt as if a heavy load of burden had been lifted off his shoulders and the pain of worry in his chest had vanished. Kakei let a small smile tug the corner of his lips. "Thank you, Mizumachi."

Mizumachi broke into a wide grin, "Then! Everything's fine now! Don't put it to heart!" he ruffled Kakei's dark hair, "And listen! Today I signed up for the American Football club! They said they're competing for the Nationals! And also-"

It felt quite pleasant to have a better relationship with his master. As Kakei listened to Mizumachi's rants on the American Football club, a smile stayed in his feature. Mizumachi Kengo had conquered his past.

Kakei's thoughts left Mizumachi for a while. The image of a certain Rottweiler came clear in his vision and Kakei chuckled in his mind. Guess he should thank Akaba Hayato.


	9. Promise

Chapter 9 – Promise

Kobayakawa Sena sat where he was, digesting what the Hybrid German Shepard had just said and trying to accept reality as how it was. How did he end up making a deal with the devil three years ago? The brunet could not pull away from those piercing emerald eyes of Hiruma Youichi. He swallowed hard; a drop of sweat slid down the side of his face.

"What's wrong fucking shrimp?"

The brunet snapped back to attention and he averted his eyes; darting at anything except for the Hybrid who still rested his forehead on Sena's. "Er… that… I mean…" Truthfully, three years ago, when he had seen Hiruma's state in that alley, he had taken pity of the Hybrid and had really wanted to provide a home for him. That was before he knew Hiruma Youichi's notorious reputation.

Sena gulped silently and heaved a soft sigh. "I get it…" Knowing that he would not be able to win if he kept on fighting, Sena had chosen to give up and accept it. Well, that was what he had been doing for his whole life: running away.

Hiruma hesitated for a split second before pulling away. He could smell the scent of reluctance in Sena's behaviour. This was not what he had expected. If Sena had not wanted to take Hiruma in, why did he even make a promise with the Hybrid? The blonde studied the brunet's features and sat back on his heels. The gears in his mind were rotating in deep thought and when they finally clicked in place, Hiruma leaned nearer and placed his hands each at the side of the brunet. Sena held his breath at the sudden gesture and their eyes met again.

"Are you sure?" Hiruma's whisper sounded slightly husky, "If you don't want to, I won't force you."

Surprise struck the brunet and was clearly shown on his dumbfounded face. Sena had never thought that those kinds of words would come from the Satanic Hybrid German Shepard. Not knowing how to response to the abnormal question, Sena stayed silent.

"I don't fucking know what you were thinking back then. But now this is your choice again." Hiruma's eyes narrowed further, "You're making a deal with the devil. Taking me in means a heavy burden to you. Are you able to bear this responsibility?"

Sena did not flinch at the words, but inside, he felt a little panic-stricken. What Hiruma had said was after all true in every sense. A small war of either accepting or refusing outraged in Sena's mind. Part of him wanted to cut off any ties he had with the blond devil, but another part of him wanted to keep his promise and give the Hybrid a home. Though he felt quite afraid at the second thought. Sena dropped his gaze to the floor, unable to maintain the eye contact which sent a cold chill down his spines. He tried to choose the more sensible out of the two choices. But were the two choices even sensible?

If he would to deliberately end their so-called 'promise relationship', who knew what Hiruma would do. It was rumoured that this devil would even kill to achieve his goals, and if he wanted that promise to be kept, Sena could do nothing to stop him. On the other hand, if Sena kept his promise and take Hiruma in, that would just mean inviting the devil into his life. Which lead to the conclusion that Sena would not be able to live his normal life any longer.

Sena's face became weary when the thought reached the end. Both decisions were his lose. So why fight a losing battle?

"…I can bear it…" the brunet's voice came soft and tired, "I'll keep the promise that I made with you three years ago. I-I'll take you in."

Sharp emerald eyes glared at the teenager in front of him. The blond Hybrid removed his hands from where they were and leaned back, sitting on his haunches. "That's not what I fucking meant. If you can't do it, then don't. I told you I'm not forcing you. It's your choice. I don't want empty promises."

Sena stole a glance at the blonde and when no anger or malice was shown on Hiruma's features, the brunet relaxed his tensed body. A soft sigh of relief escaped his lips and he hung down his head.

"I'm really sorry…" the words came in a whisper. Sena swallowed before continuing, "I really don't know what to do… I never thought that I, of all people, would be in this kind of situation…" his sentence trailed off into silence.

"What do you want?"

Sena looked up at the sudden question. Confusion was crystal-clear on his face.

"Do you want me around or not?" Hiruma let out the question without any difficulties or hesitation, "If you want me around, I'll stay. If you don't, I'll leave and you can return to your usual life."

Honey-brown orbs widened at how Hiruma could easily say those words. Sena had never thought that Hiruma would say those words. He had always assumed that the devil would never take back his words or give up half-way on his goals. However, his thoughts were wrong. Erm… really?

Now back to the main problem, what did Sena want? Hiruma around or not? Everyone would usually blurt out the negative answer without even giving a second thought, but for no apparent reason, Kobayakawa Sena gave the second thought.

Since the day Sena had met, or more exact encountered, Hiruma, his life had changed drastically. And dramatically. Worrying about a Hybrid who could lurk anywhere to pounce on him and trying hard to defend himself from that same Hybrid, had never happened in Sena's life. Somehow, it felt quite adventurous and fun? The downside was that he had to endure some certain assaults and the weird change in Kakei Shun's behaviour. So what did Sena want?

Hiruma kept his eyes on the brunet's. No emotions were shown in those emerald shards. The silence of the room rang in the ears and the air seemed heavy and cold. The ticking of the clock which hung on the wall sounded distanced and faraway. This was the final answer. The answer which would decide both of their lives. Whether they would end everything and return to their normal lives. Or whether they would patch everything up and live together. Which was it?

Sena gulped silently. "I…" he paused, "I want to keep that promise." He dropped his gaze to the floor and stated, "Although I made that promise without knowing who you were, I still want to give you a home. There was something in you that interested me. Something that made me this way. That made I want to help you…"

Hiruma's eyebrow twitched at the statement and the corner of his lips tugged up into a crooked weird smile. Help? This fucking shrimp wanted to help him? What the? He sighed in hidden relief and brought up his hand, ruffling the dark brown hair of the brunet.

"Gotcha," the Hybrid smirked and pulled the young brunet into his strong arms. A resounding cackle escaped his sharp canines and he whispered into Sena's ears, his words dripping of evilness, "I knew you were going to agree."

"EH?!" the brunet gasped in surprise and shot up his head to look at the devil who was smirking down at him, "You! So this is your entire plan?!"

"Not entirely," Hiruma pulled back to create a space between them, "Your choice isn't my plan. But I knew you were going to agree."

The brunet frowned and sighed. His timid nature was really a disadvantage. He could never say 'no' or break a promise he had make, even though that promise was years old. "Yeah…" his posture slumped, "I admit it…"

Hiruma cackled and he stood abruptly, pulling the brunet up too. At the confused look Sena gave him, Hiruma smirked, "Then it's time to get me a fucking collar." Before the brunet could give any reply, the Hybrid made a bolt out of the house; with a shocked Sena in his hand.

"B-but Hiruma!" the brunet cried out in fear.

"No buts, fucking shrimp! Ya-Ha!"

"Hiruma!!" the whine failed to overcome the cackle of the devil.

As the two figures dashed through an empty part of the town towards the Hybrid Service Centre to get a collar for Hiruma Youichi, they passed a particularly dark pitch alleyway. The last of their shadows sped past it and Hiruma caught an odd scent with his sharp sense. Odd, somehow familiar. It was the scent of a Hybrid Dog but in this kind of area, stray Hybrids were not uncommon. Ignoring and assuming it as one of a stray's, Hiruma continued his way, still dragging Sena behind him.

A short while after the two had disappeared from anywhere near the dark alley; a tall silhouette emerged from the shadows. His floppy canine ears twitched in dark excitement and the sharp eyes behind the dark glasses narrowed with malice. A sinister smirk cut his lips, showing the sharp canines and a soft chuckle escaped.

* * *

Trudging along the riverside with no exact destination, Cerberos had a grumpy face; although it was his usual expression. Lately, Hiruma had been away to that shrimp's place, or wherever. The days had become boring as they passed since Hiruma was not around to taunt the people around them, providing food for Cerberos.

The Hybrid's train of simple thoughts was cut off when he heard the sound of feet against the concrete. Feet that was running in full speed towards him. Glancing back, Cerberos could make out the outline of someone sprinting at his direction. As that someone drew nearer, he could now see the features of this someone. Black short hair and dark eyes burning with determination. Manly and sharp facial features and well-built body of an athlete. Sensing who that someone was, Cerberos stopped in his tracks. He need not wait long for the Hybrid to reach him.

"Wha'dya want, Greyhound?" Cerberos lazily asked.

"A match," Shin Seijuuro replied stoically, "to deterime the fastest and strongest Hybrid in Tokyo."

"Nah" the Hybrid Mutt turned away but hesitated when he heard another set of running feet coming nearer. And he knew very well who it was.

"How dare you turn down Shin?! ORAAA!!" without stopping, Ikari threw his strong arm forward at Cerberos.

Expecting the attack, the Hybrid Mutt easily dodged, knocked Ikari's arm away and sent a powerful blow under the Hybrid American Pitt Bull's jaws, who crashed onto the ground with a loud bang.

"Wha'dya want now, Pitt Bull?" Cerberos shook his fist in the air, "Why don't ya two go back'a your Oujou school and'a leave me'lone?"

"I have trained days and nights for a match with you, the demonic Hybrid said to be the strongest in this area," Shin stated flatly," and today, I have come to claim the title of the strongest" he tugged at his glove.

"Not'a interested" the reply came immediately, "and ya sitter hafta come to get'ya two back'a school."

"Shin! Ikari!" as what Cerberos had said, Takami Ichirou, a third grader of Oujou High School came jogging behind them. He was a member of the Hybrid Club in his school which took in stray Hybrids and provided help for them. His dark hair was windswept and his pair of glasses was at the edge of his nose, ready to drop. Beside him was a Hybrid Smooth Collie, Sakuraba Haruto, and alike Takami, his blond hair was also windswept due to running.

"Don't escape from school!" Takami paused to catch his breath, "Ikari! What happened to you?!" he quickly kneeled down to help the fallen Hybrid.

"Pitt Bull's still'a live," Cerberos grunted, "he's gotta thick skull, won'tda die of'a punch."

Ikari felt a nerve snapped and he stomped to his feet, "What'cha say Mutt?! Wanna die?!"

"Ikari! Stop it!" Takami grabbed the collar of the raging Hybrid, "Sakuraba! Give me a hand!"

Doing as he was told, the Hybrid Smooth Collie threw his arms around Ikari and tried to hold him off, "Shin! Can't you give some help too?!"

Ignoring the commotion, Cerberos turned away and began his aimless stroll again. Suddenly he stopped and his head shot up to attention. A familiar smell stabbed his senses and he glanced around. A smell he hated, despised with all he had. Although he did not have much memory of that person, he knew who that bastard was and what he did. Those things he did full of hatred so strong that Cerberos could still feel the rage he had years back.

But that bastard of a Hybrid could not be around here right? If he was, what if Hiruma met him?

* * *

"Let's take a shortcut," Hiruma dragged Sena into a back alley.

"Erm… I don't think that's a good idea…" the brunet trembled slightly, "it-it's dark here…"

"Huh?" Hiruma turned his head to look at Sena, "You scared of the-"

"Hiruma?" Sena was confused at the stop. Not only in his words, Hiruma had even stopped moving. And his sharp emerald eyes were staring ahead, not at Sena, but behind him. The shock written clearly on Hiruma's face made Sena worried and he carefully glanced back.

A dark silhouette stood some distance away from them. Why was he here? Hiruma unconsciously gritted his canines and his grip around the brunet's hand tightened. Feeling the clench, Sena glanced back at Hiruma. The Hybrid did not show the anger out, but from how his eyebrows slanted and his eyes narrowed, Sena knew that Hiruma was not the excited Hybrid few seconds ago.

"Bastard…" Hiruma's husky voice sounded through his clenched canines, "Why are you here?"


	10. The Reasons

Sorry for the delay. I had trouble writing this chapter. And this is the final chapter of Hybrid. Thank you for reading and reviewing! I'll take a break from writing multi-chapters, but I'll write oneshots.

* * *

Chapter 10 – The Reasons

"Aah? What did you say trash?" the figure stepped nearer, his appearance slowly shown. Dark dreadlocks that fell over his shoulders and almost black canines ears perked up in malicious amusement. Sinister sharp eyes were hidden behind the dark glasses and similarly sharp fangs were revealed by the openly menacing smirk. "What rights do you have to talk back to me?"

The grip around Sena's hand tightened and Hiruma stepped up in front of the brunet. Was Hiruma protecting? Although Sena did not know who this dreadlocked Hybrid was, he could feel the pressuring evil intent that saturated the atmosphere, making it difficult to breathe. He dared not even blink, fearing that the moment of miniscule darkness would be his death and never would he open his eyes again. This Hybrid was different. Not kind like Kakei. Not aggressive like Cerberos. Not demonic like Hiruma. This Hybrid was purely evil.

The brunet could not stop his suddenly trembling knees and his body felt paralyzed by the sight of the evil he was facing. He unconsciously grabbed Hiruma's shirt and could only peek over the blonde's shoulder with his wide fearful dark brown eyes.

"Aah? What do you have there?" the dreadlocked Hybrid mocked, "A pussy?"

"Shut up." Hiruma retorted, not backing down, "What I have is none of your fucking business."

The dreadlocked Hybrid laughed darkly, "I don't care either," and his smirk widened, "but killing trashes is so much fun."

Realizing at once, Hiruma pushed Sena to the side and received the sudden punch with his arm. The blonde lose his balance due to the enormous power and fell to the ground on his back with a loud crash. "You bastard…" Hiruma growled as the shadow of the other Hybrid overcast on him.

"Are you trying to protect that trash?" the dreadlocked chuckled darkly, "When you yourself are a trash?" with that said, he sent another blow at Hiruma who dodged it.

Sena could only witness the one-sided fight with wide eyes. His whole body was paralyzed in wild fear, ringing in his ears. Although his instincts were screaming for him to run, he could not move from the place on the ground, shaking and gasping for air. He knew very well if he stayed any longer, the chances for him to be attacked was nearly a hundred over hundred but fear took the better hold of him and he stayed rooted, his eyes grew wide with every sharp blow Hiruma Youichi received from the evil Hybrid.

"Sena! What are you doing?! Get the hell out of here!"

Hiruma's voice shot through the brunet and sent a sudden jolt up his spine which wrenched him back to activation. He blinked once and without any second wasted, he scrambled up and dashed away for his life; not glancing back.

"You think you'll get away trash?" with god-speed reaction, the dreadlocked Hybrid ignored Hiruma and went after his other running prey. Sena need not look back to know that the Hybrid was at his heels. He could feel the saturated aura of evil intend in the air crawling from behind him; adrenaline ringing in his ears and the air rushed into his lungs in painful stabs. If he was caught here, he would surely be dead. But the terribly dark fear weighed down on him and his whole body began to fell weak and stiff. Crap, he was going to be caught…

Hiruma threw his arms around the dreadlocked Hybrid's leg, temporarily stopping his movement. "Don't you dare lay a finger on him!"

"Aah?!" the dreadlocked easily smashed Hiruma's head into the ground with a hand, "So you want to be finished off first?" he smirked.

"Hiruma!" Sena glanced back and halted in his run.

"Get away!" Hiruma shouted, blood dripping down from the side of his lips.

Sena flinched in surprise. He knew better to stick around. For his whole life he could identify easily when he should protect himself or when he should run. If the devil were to state that someone was dangerous enough that he, himself had to run away, that someone was after all genuinely dangerous. However, no matter how well Sena knew he had to run and how much he wanted to, he could not continue on his escape. Something inside him prevented it. Something contracting his chest and burning his throat. Not thinking of what he was doing or what the consequences were, Sena ran to where Hiruma was. He must be out of his mind to be doing this.

Upon sensing what the short brunet was coming at, the dreadlocked Hybrid stepped back and twisted to the direction, ready to knock the lights out of him. However, the brunet ducked down low, avoiding the arm that was aimed at his neck, and crouched right in front of Hiruma; his arms outstretched to his sides protecting despite his uncontrollable shaking body.

"Tch!" the blond Hybrid spat some blood to the ground, "What the fuck are you doing?!"

Sena could not find his voice to reply, but in his head, he could hear himself screaming to run away. Wide honey-brown orbs painted with fear eyed the dreadlocked Hybrid who was smirking malice down at him. There was no way that Sena could survive in this situation but regardless of that, he could not just leave Hiruma Youichi and let the Hybrid be beaten up. Cowardice. No more. Looked down upon. No more. Useless. No more. _Kobayakawa Sena, stop being a coward! _Protect those dear to him.

Sinister laughter was heard from the shadowed figure in front of Kobayakawa Sena and Hiruma Youichi. "What is this here?" another chuckle, "You want to be finished off at once, huh?"

The Hybrid raised his fist, the smirk which revealed his pointy canines never leaving his face. Sena clenched his eyes shut and he could hear Hiruma's voice somewhere at the back, yelling for him to get the hell away. Sena was a goner; for sure. He could imagine Hiruma trying to push himself up on his hurt arms, his face distorted in the sharp pain; but still had the determination to shove Sena out of the way. The brunet braced himself for the blow that he was sure was the one to pull out his last breath.

"Kongo Agon!" a coarse roar, the rage unmistakable, the familiar quick-cut accent.

A blurry figure pounced from the sides at the dreadlocked who with his god-like quick reactions whirled around and threw the punch at the new intruder. A resounding crack was heard and Sena instinctively shot open his eyes. Mere shock should not be used to describe how Sena felt when he saw the small yet strong body of Cerberos standing in front of him. Relief washed over him at once but then realizing the huge difference in size between Cerberos and the so-called Kongo Agon, fear and panic gushed into his chest again.

"Another trash," Agon smirked at the short Hybrid, who was only two-thirds of his size, "They just keep coming one after the other."

"Shu'up bastard," Cerberos growled. Anger burned in his miniscule black eyes which glared into those sinister dark eyes of Kongo Agon without the slightest fear. Cerberos, a Hybrid Mutt; he was not similar to the normal Hybrid Dogs. Place and date of birth; unknown. Parents; unknown. Previous home or owner; unknown. Vocabulary and speech; poor but improving. Height and size; stunted. Temper; very short like his height. In total, Cerberos was a mutated Hybrid. However, he had his own extraordinary traits. Power, strength, stamina, very good memory, extreme loyalty and dedication, and a hidden caring side in him.

Cerberos remembered clearly-well the memories of the past. How nerve-ticking. The blood inside him boiled in fury making the whole of his body to tremble uncontrollably. He did not know the whole story behind it since he had only entered the scene somewhere near the end. But he knew that Hiruma and Agon were not best buddies who walked around town with arms around each other's shoulders. No, they were not even friends. They were using each other… Hiruma, to get blackmail materials, and Agon, to beat up anyone he wanted to.

* * *

Three years ago, when consciousness returned to Cerberos, he was already discarded in an alleyway; mind blank and stomach hungry. At that time, he did not know who he was, why he was there, and what had happened to him. It was all empty; memory and heart. He felt no emotions, thought no reasons. Rain had been pouring and the scruffy dirty blond hair began to get matted down.

Silent steps were picked up with his overly-sensitive hearing sense and he glanced to the side through the corner of his eyes. A Hybrid Dog. Bright blond hair which were spiked up without any proper order, a pair of pointed brown black furry ears with two piercings each, and emotionless shards of emerald eyes. In his left hand, he held a white umbrella; his other hand stuffed in his pocket.

Their eyes met and that was the first meeting of Cerberos and Hiruma Youichi.

In those small black eyes, Hiruma could see his own reflection. The reflection of his past. Years ago, he too was in the same position as Cerberos; thrown out with not a single reason. The only difference was that Hiruma remembered the bastard of a father and he managed to survive in the cruel world, dirtying his hands with blackmails and gamblings, creating a demonic appearance and shooting firearms.

Ironically, just a few minutes ago, Hiruma was in that exact curled up pose, in a similarly dark alley, drenched in the still pouring rain and feeling lost as if the whole world were against him. And then, a young boy appeared out of nowhere and actually spoke to him, promising a home in three years time. Created, a reason for living. And as a proof that the boy existed and that event happened, the blonde was gripping the white umbrella that thirteen-year old Kobayakawa Sena had given him. The ray of light in the darkness. The opened door in the prison. The outstretched hand in the flood of ignorance.

And here was Hiruma Youichi, his arm put forth, palm facing up, and waiting for the mutated Hybrid to take it. The blonde did not want a reflection of himself to fall into the abyss he had escaped. The abyss of negligence and ripped off of the aim for living. Such being which had drowned in that hell should stay there. But Hiruma saw the speck of determination to survive in the coal black eyes of Cerberos.

Then, Hiruma and Cerberos were a pack. There used to be a third member; one who had been in the group earlier than Cerberos. A Hybrid Presa Canario, Kongo Agon. As soon as Hiruma had brought Cerberos to the territory, Agon had left the pack.

"You can both rot to hell and I don't give a fucking damn for weak trashes."

That statement ended with a sinister laugh and the dreadlocked Hybrid went off, never seen again by Hiruma and Cerberos. Truthfully, the Hybrid Mutt wanted to rip the skins out of the dreadlocked if Hiruma had not stopped him. Being picked up by Hiruma, although not officially owner and pet, Cerberos had instantly developed an extreme devotion and loyalty towards the demonic blonde for he was the one who gave the thrown out mutated Hybrid another reason for living: to live.

A few days later, Cerberos hunted down Agon and engaged him into a death fight; but no deaths resulted.

* * *

"Betray'd Hiruma, lettin him down, abandon him! Ima don'ta care if you're abandon me!" Cerberos barked, "But'cha make Hiruma feel'ta abandoned twize! I'll kill'cha for that!"

Blinded with rage, the Hybrid Mutt launched himself at Kongo Agon. Within seconds, a furious and violent fight broke out, with blood spluttering every now and then. Kobayakawa Sena cowered in fear; the memories of the bloody fight he saw a few years ago returned. Wait, were those two Hybrids that he saw back then… Cerberos and Agon?! Realizing that the answer was a yes, Sena inched away from the brawl. A hand squeezed his shoulder and the brunet jumped in fear.

"…let's get out of here," Hiruma whispered slowly, "Before we get pulled in."

Relief that it was Hiruma, Sena gulped before whispering back, as if afraid that Cerberos and Agon would notice their existence, "B-but what about Cerberos?"

"Nevermind him, "Hiruma smirked, "He went through a hell lot of trouble but he survived each and every one of them. The fucking dreadlocked is nothing for him." A short pause, "and if that's what the Mutt wants, let him have it…"

"…okay…" the brunet sounded a bit reluctant, but he slowly got up and helped the Hybrid German Shepard to his feet. The stagger out of the alley felt like eternity; Hiruma's arm around Sena's shoulder and the brunet's arms around the blonde, careful not to disturb the wounds. In a way or another, the roaring sounds of the violence became too distanced to be heard. The journey to Sena's house was in silent until the brunet spoke softly, "Hiruma… I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" No 'fucking', no 'shrimp'. If Sena had remembered correctly, Hiruma had used his name, 'Sena', when he yelled for the brunet to escape.

"Because of me, you're injured," coffee brown eyes dropped their gaze to the concrete pavement, "You bought time for me to run, but I didn't…"

"Idiot," Hiruma squeezed the brunet's shoulder reassuringly, "you returned, you're safe, and I'm not dead. What else matters?" the blonde gave a playful smirk, "and I'll definitely protect you," emerald green eyes met with honey brown ones and both lad and Hybrid stopped in their tracks. Time did not tick on. Those piercing cool shards captivated every strand of Sena's attention. An emotion.

"because I-"

"Sena?"

The eye contact broke and instinctively, Sena turned to the direction of the voice that had called his name. Kakei Shun stood a few feet away and his sea blue eyes traveled from the brunet to the wounded blond Hybrid. He recognized the scent at once although it was smeared with blood. This was the Hybrid which had been around Sena.

The previous calmness was instantly taken over with panic in Sena. Kakei was here. Kakei had seen Hiruma. Hiruma knew that Kakei was there. Hiruma had an arm around Sena. Sena had both arms around Hiruma. Kakei was looking at them. Another violent fight would break out? No way!! This had to be a dream. A nightmare. _No! No! No! NOOO!!_

"So you're the one?" Kakei asked Hiruma, his tone calm without any trace of anger.

"The one what?" Hiruma had sounded outright displeased at the interruption.

"The one that Sena chose to be with." A smile grazed the Hybrid Golden Retriever's lips.

"Hell, yeah," the blonde smirked. Not really… Hiruma had forced him somehow… but anyway. "He's mine, and that's it."

Sena's eyes went wide in surprise. No fight had occurred. No violence. No anger. Everything was fine, calm. This scene had never come across Sena's mind.

"Then, I hope you'll take care of Sena," Kakei nodded at the still shocked brunet, "Don't be like me…" _a betrayer of his own legal owner._

"Who would want to be like you?" Hiruma cackled, "I am myself, and that won't change. I suggest you should forget every intention you had regarding him." And the blonde pulled Sena closer in an awkward one-arm hug.

"H-Hiruma!" the brunet flushed red.

The Hybrid Golden Retriever chuckled lightly, "Yeah, you're right. Guessing what had caused those injuries, I'm sure that Sena would be fine with you."

"Yeah, yeah. Conversation over, deal made, time to go home and get my wounds patched up," Hiruma Youichi flashed a knowing victorious smirk.

Kakei Shun saw off the two and when they had disappeared from his view line, he spoke out, "How long have you been there? Akaba Hayato."

Said Hybrid Rottweiler emerged from behind a tree he had been leaning against, "Long enough to witness everything," he chuckled lightly and walked up to the Golden Retriever, "So all your hopes are down the drain? By the notorious Hiruma Youichi."

Kakei sighed, "Honestly, I was in doubt about having Sena as a master too. The natural instinct; to be loyal to one and only one master." He paused, "well, I guess I'm glad all these are over."

"Yeah, it's all over," Akaba chuckled and swung an arm around the dark-haired's shoulder, "so let's start a new beginning."

"Hm?" Kakei eyed the pink-haired questioningly. Akaba was not wearing his usual dark glasses; exposing his bright red eyes which were gazing deep into Kakei's sea blue ones.

"You should have understood it…" not saying anything else, Akaba Hayato leaned in and kissed Kakei Shun. A short soft kiss, nothing more than a light peck. Akaba pulled back a little and smiled at the stoned Golden Retriever.

"That…" a tinge of red coloured Kakei's cheeks.

Akaba's lips were only an inch away from Kakei's and the pink-haired whispered, "because I…" no words came after that as Akaba Hayato kissed the dark-haired yet again. This time, it was deeper and more passionate. Kakei let his eyelids drop and let his senses touch only the feeling of Akaba's lips on his. And when, the pink-haired's lips mouthed three words, Kakei slid his arms around Akaba.

…_I love you._

* * *

The next day…

"Hiruma, wait a minute!"

"We're here Sena," the Hybrid German Shepard cackled and entered the shop. As soon as he stepped in, the storeowner looked up and almost jumped out of his skin.

"I'm sorry!" Sena quickly rushed in, "He won't do anything; I assure you!"

"Leave that old baldy," Hiruma gave a bored look and eyed the shelves up and down.

Apologizing to the storeowner again, Sena joined Hiruma and his coffee brown eyes scanned through the shelves. Rows and rows of dog collars were neatly arranged; different in colour and style. After a few minutes Sena decided on a plain red leather collar. "What do you think about this one?" the brunet asked the Hybrid which he was about to officially own.

"Okay" was all the answer Sena got from the blonde.

Sena paid for the collar and wrote down the necessary details. _Hiruma Youichi. 121, Autumn Breeze Apartment. Owner: Kobayakawa Sena._ After having finished writing, Sena glanced at the Hybrid who was still looking up and down the shelves.

"Hiruma," the brunet came up hesitantly, "Could you bend down a bit? I can't see the back."

Without any complain, Hiruma did as he was told. Sena's hands were shaking when he finally buckled the collar; quite loosely so as not to cause any uneasiness to the Hybrid. Hiruma fingered with the red collar before picking up another one from the shelves and actually paid for it.

"Hiruma? What are you doing?" Sena nearly yelled, "You should have said if you didn't-"

The blonde buckled the black dog collar around Sena's neck and smirked. "This way, everyone knows you're officially mine."

Dumbstruck, the brunet flipped the hanging metal tag. _Kobayakawa Sena. 121, Autumn Breeze Apartment. Owner: Hiruma Youichi. _

"Hiruma!! This is… this is…"

The blonde grinned, showing off his pointy canines. "Do you remember? That conversation we had before the Golden Retriever interrupted?"

Frowning slightly, Sena nodded.

Hiruma pulled the brunet into an embrace, ignoring how flustered Sena had become, and whispered into his ear, "Because I love you."

The storeowner, Hiruma would blackmail him later. No worries. Everything was going how he wanted.

* * *

End


End file.
